


Destined

by Chisie



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Action & Romance, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Romance, gencyweek, police/intelligence bureau AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-04-06 22:25:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 51,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19071907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chisie/pseuds/Chisie
Summary: A story for the fifth Gency Week! A mini series about Genji and Angela whom lost each other, but getting each other in the end.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1 chapter but posting today. A day late! But I hope you enjoy! Comments and critiques are appreciated. I finished this at 2am my side...
> 
> Also written in Genji's point of view. Always a first for everything~

**Day 1: You're My Strength To Go On**

 

I would have married her if not for Jack.

Jack.

John Francis ‘Jack’ Morrison.

Now, I suppose that you want to ask how I found out.

But, I also think… you’d rather ask me why I killed him.

……

…

Six months prior.

 

"Yes, don't worry, boss. Everything is all settled for tonight... Yes, understood... Don't worry, leave it all to me. I got this!"

The man's voice drifted with the wind. He turned to sweep his gaze around the vast field before him. He stood tall and proud on the erected stage, an arrogant smirk on his thin lips. The crew members around him were busy hustling about as they made the final checks of the equipment.

‘ _ Everything would begin tomorrow night... Yes. All their plans could finally resume after a month of suspension! If not for those pesky – _ ’

In the wake of the sleeping sun, the blond man with the thin tips barked some orders at the crew one more time. "Make sure nothing goes wrong! Has anyone checked the fog machines yet?"

A dashing young man sporting the signs of a new stubble upon his chiselled face quickly went over to report in his southern drawl: "Yes, sir! All the smoke machines have been checked and thoroughly tested. They're in working condition!" He was tanned with quite the muscular body and a charming smile.

The blond man nodded approvingly. "Good! Good! When the festival tonight becomes a hit, I’ll treat everyone to food and drinks after!"

Waves of excitement danced across the stage, from the platform to the back as every crew member cheered.

“Thanks, boss!”

“We’re gonna drink up all your money!”

The boss smirked as he watched their wide grins and cheerful manners.

Yes, after tonight.

‘ _ I'll treat all of you if you're still alive by then, _ ' the man sneered inwardly before walking off stage.

Unbeknownst to him, a pair of dark eyes that exuded such an excited gleam earlier sharpened at the retreating back even for just the briefest moment before humming and resuming work. He scratched at his stubble, thinking how great it would be to finally be able to grow it out again. Soon, so soon. It was only during his break that he finally took out his phone and sent off a quick text before they were hollered at to continue the checks for the final touches.

' _ Finally, this month-long operation can come to an end _ .'

...

That night was particularly clear with no clouds, where even the moon and stars were hiding; Perhaps from the knowledge that they knew something terrible was going to happen. Yet, down below, large black masses were congregated before the stages that were specifically raised just for this occasion.

Once the masses had walked through the large doors of the festival grounds, they were greeted by an outer-worldly sight of dreamlike structures. Past the entertainment grounds and side stages of various designs (like rose gardens, giant mushrooms, theatres, and organs), the audience arrived at the main stage – The main highlight of this two-day weekend event. With the year’s theme being all about water, the main stage platform was a width of 120 meters and a height of 28 meters, that was centred by a golden gigantic mermaid which towered over two hundred meters. In the dark, its eyes shone like emerald amongst the lights flickering like fireflies. When the stage lights lit up in colours of white and blue while a euphony of magical hums danced through the quiet anticipation, the scene of ivory coral-like platforms being submerged in water had the audience gasping at the scene of absolute wonder. The mermaid was majestic, with water walls running in water basins as tall as 200 meters sheltering it. The full length of the stage design was easily a few hundred meters long and roughly as tall as the mermaid.

“People of Melodia, embark with me on a journey and be guided into a new adventure on life.” A deep voice resounded loudly in the skies, its effect magnetic and charming, and the excited clamour hushed into silence once more. “Open your eyes and take a closer look at those embraced by the tears of Mother Nature.”

The water walls rippled like glitters as the lights reflected off its surface and everyone waited while buzzing excitedly. When the main platform lit up with the first DJ, screams erupted across the audience and the first introduction track blasted through the massive speakers.

Hidden amongst the screaming audience and the staff members were a few individuals that stared intently at the stage platforms, or more specifically: the fog machines.

As I wade my way through the masses, I glanced at the crowd around me with their bodies dancing and jumping to the beat. It’s been so many years since I’ve had this hairstyle, but it was necessary to blend in. Yet, even with my bright green hair, I wasn't out of place at all; some sported dainty pink hairs that reminded me of the cherry blossoms back home and others rocked theirs in an electric blue hue. I tugged the light scarf higher around my face. Concealer and makeup covered my scars, but it still irked me — that someone could easily distinguish and make out those ugly scars my body carried. Because they were still faintly, just faintly, visible.

The music boomed louder. My body remembered every dance move I rocked many years ago — back when I played around, clubbed and drank with no remorse, but now, my muscles shivered at the live experience of the festival, the pleasant memories fading away. Life's cruel that way and I deserved it. I hate to say it, but my older brother was right: Evil cause, evil effect. I suppose… your Western equivalent was ‘You reap what you sow’.

Beep. " _ Sparrow, are you in position? Over. _ " A southern drawl sounded loud and clear in the communication earpiece despite the noise.

With a finger pressed onto the device, I flatly replied, "Not yet, McCree. I will be in 10 minutes."

" _ Alright. If it goes according to schedule, the fog machines will start going off in 30 minutes. When the drugs administered are fully combined with the fog fluid, it loses its potency after 30 minutes and that’s long enough to drug the entire crowd because according to the schedule, the main DJ would play, attracting the biggest crowd ever! _ "

" _ We got it. You've drilled it into our heads long enough, son _ ." Another voice cut in.

" _ But, commander! I've been undercover for so long and it's finally going to end! I want to grow my beard again. _ " Yet, everyone could hear the pride in his voice. Anyone would be in his situation; So close to a successful undercover and infiltration mission! And he was the main intelligence gathering officer!

I, like the rest of the team, ignored McCree's whining towards Commander Jack Morrison and went in favour of getting into position. Slipping through the sweaty crowd, I circled the edge of the secured perimeter while avoiding the gazes of the security team. The team and I had successfully infiltrated the festival grounds when dusk hit, blending in with the partygoers upon the opening of the gates.

Nearly reaching the end of the perimeter, I stopped and observed the guards standing by. I turned back towards the stage and began dancing to the dropped bass. At the peak of everyone’s euphoria, I roughly pushed a man dancing by my side.

"Hey, hey! Watch it, man!"

"Fuck! It was an accident okay! Someone goddamn pushed me!"

As they started arguing and getting rough with each other, I quickly and nimbly slipped to the side as the guards rushed over to end the fight. Undetected, I jumped over the low, metal fence and dashed off into the shadows. Clothed in black, I pulled the hood over my distinctive hair and made my way over to the platform’s backstage. The few years of experience shone through at this point: Only a black silhouette stealthily slipped and ducked through the shadows, past all the personnel directing the concert backstage and the security guards posted outside, effortlessly landing on higher platforms as quiet as a mouse, and arriving by the large fog machines.

“I’m here. And they’re being guarded.” I stealthily relayed to the team.

“I’m in position too. And I see guards,” McCree replied.

A chorus of agreements and similar communications of positions echoed in my ear as I peered at the people below me. I was currently perched atop an oversized seashell, back hunched as I made myself as small as possible. Majority of the fog machines were placed on the lower platforms, near the audience, with only four spread out on the upper platforms roughly fifty meters from the ground.

My task?

Was exactly those four fog machines spread out on the upper platforms.

After all, this was easy for a ninja.

There were still 24 minutes till the fog machines were due to go off, having arrived just slightly under 10 minutes. “Is everyone ready? I’m going to disable the machines in 3.”

“ _ Copy that, Sparrow. I’m all good to go when you are, _ ” Commander Jack replied, promptly followed by Gabriel voicing out his agreement.

With a word of acknowledgment, I quickly scanned the other three fog machines, silently noting down the distance in between them and calculating the quickest and most effective route to take. It was dim backstage with only the occasional light shining over from the stage lights.

“ _ Commander, exterminate or incapicitate? _ ”

“ _ Incapacitate. We need the suspect alive. _ ”

_ “Understood. _ ”

Taking a deep breath, I felt my nerves calming and my muscles relaxing.

_ ‘It’s time.’ _

Gripping onto the seashell decoration with a hand and lifting myself up into a crouch, I waited patiently for the opportunity. As the stage lights disappeared into the other direction, I nimbly leapt off the seashell, feeling the power in my calves while pouncing onto a defenceless staff member whose back faced me. With a strike of my hand, my victim began to fall as he was knocked unconscious. Before his knees touched the ground, his coworkers only saw a black blur when they turned around before similarly descending into darkness just as the stage lights swept back. With every known obstacle heaped unconscious on the ground, I hurriedly checked the liquid in the fog machine and frowned. A dark green liquid stared back at me under the light, the sight glaring and mocking. Without enough time to empty the heat exchanger compartment, I decisively flicked my right wrist and slashed apart the connecting cords with the hidden dagger. Retracting the blade back inside, I spared the audience below a single second of a glance before leaping and latching onto another platform. Soundlessly hauling myself up, I made my way over to the next one, repeating the same actions swiftly and effectively with no hiccups, until the very last one.

When I was about to slash at the cords, a cold sensation prickled down my neck and I instinctively pushed off my left foot, barely dodging the throwing knife to my back as I rolled to the side. It clanged when metal hit metal. I threw out my arm upon rolling upright, only to see the attacker parry my shuriken with a second throwing knife. A dangerous glint flashed through my eyes when he threw it at me. With a flick of my wrist, I easily parried it with my hidden dagger and rushed forth with a great leap. The enemy jumped back to increase the distance, his actions calm, as though he’d faced many similar situations before.

‘ _ Want to run? It’s not that easy. _ ’ I sneered and with another flick of my right arm, I felt the hidden dagger detach itself from its compartment. Gripping the removed dagger by its handle, the feeling smooth and cold under calloused skin, I slashed upwards with my blade.

I could hear the man mocking me mentally, but I simply smirked back as I instantly brought my arm back down. In that split second, two large gushes of blood spurted out from the pair of gashes crisscrossed against his body. I flicked my now transformed katana, the droplets of blood splattering across the metal ground and leered at the enemy.

“H-How —” The fear and confusion were clear from his eyes. I scanned him top down, noticing the thin lips that McCree constantly complained about and yeap, blond hair, before taking a step forward and lifted his chin with the tip of my foot.

“Tito the Slick?”

The man’s eyes widened like saucers. “Who —”

I lashed my foot out before Tito could even finish his question, kicking him unconscious. Ignoring him, I walked towards the fog machine and cleanly sliced off the cords.

“Commander, I’ve got Tito.”

“ _ Great work, Sparrow. _ ”

There came a pause when Gabriel continued for Jack,  _ “... Is he still alive? _ ”

A dark chuckle escaped my scarred lips before I caught it. “ _ Yes, sir. Like I always do, to the best of my abilities." _

Gabriel Reyes released the earpiece's microphone and coughed nervously, before finally responding, “ _ Good job. _ ” In holding back, was what he didn't say. Having worked with the Shimada back in Blackwatch days told him all he needed to know of the young man's bloodthirsty nature, especially when it involved a certain blonde doctor. Withdrawals, clearly.

I checked the time. 7.22pm. Still 8 more minutes till the fog machines were due, and with the panic of the fog machines not going off, to them finding the reason and then a replacement, there would be enough time for the drug to lose its potency. Shrugging my shoulders, I carefully scooped up some drugged fog liquid into a small test tube, safely put it away and picked up Tito with an arm and began making my way off the mainstage. I circled around the back, still in favour of leaping off the metal platforms and seashells, and ended up at the rendezvous point; a location on the far side of the walls covering the festival's perimeter.

Not long after, familiar silhouettes appeared in my vision from the shadows. I walked out with a still bleeding Tito. From the looks of it, it was a definite success. I suspected that Tracer alone took down half the fog machines with her speed from that grin she carried, ignored McCree's sulking lips, nodded at both Sombra and Symmetra, and gave my curt greetings to Jack and Gabriel. With the whole team assembled, we easily slipped out of the festival grounds undetected — praise Sombra and those skills of hers — and at long last, we could return home.

And home for me? Was where she would be.

On the way back, I came across a florist, the scent of the flowers pervading my senses. I tugged at the scarf higher.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"... What are your best flowers?"

"We have a fresh batch of Snapdragons that just came in. They would look absolutely lovely in a bouquet!"

~*~*~

Muffled bustling of people echoed through her walls. Another busy day, as usual, but for the first time in forever, she had a break; Break from missions, break from healings and a break from people in general. Because of that, she had her nose buried in a medical book on cybernetics in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Stacks of books, files and papers were neatly arranged atop her wooden desk. Her white lab coat hung over the back of her chair as she looked snug in her cream turtleneck sweater and dark framed spectacles, with her blonde hair naturally gathered into a ponytail.

With a sip of her hot coffee, she flipped a page of her book, the sound of rustling paper pleasing to her ears like birdsong.

_ Knock, knock. _

Wrinkling her nose in annoyance, she looked up at the door with a frown. "Come in. Oh, Jack. It's you. Mission accomplished?"

Jack walked in with a smile, one end tilted higher than the other as he strode towards her. "Yeah. We got the suspect for questioning too. It won't be long till we can take the entire group down." He glanced at her closed book before gesturing at it with his chin. "Taking a break?"

She heaved a long sigh and slumped against her chair. "Finally taking a break, you mean. There's been a higher number of casualties since you've been gone on that mission with Gabriel."

"The others couldn't support you?"

"No, it's more like the snakes are finally coming out of their caves. More and more agents are getting hurt from apprehending them and protecting civilians." She eyed him seriously and rested her chin on interlaced fingers. "If this goes on, then the number of casualties will be far greater than what the bureau can handle. Make sure you get intel from your suspect asap. We need to destroy this underground drug ring."

Jack smiled helplessly at her. "Yes, ma'am."

The pair went on to catch up on the events that happened over the past month before Jack left, albeit reluctantly, Angela's office. Angela slumped back onto her chair with yet another sigh the moment the door clicked closed and reached out to pick up her book, when —

_ Tap, tap. _

Who in the hell — !

A surge of furious annoyance burst inside her, rising from the pit of her stomach and up her chest when the words were lodged in her throat at the sudden realisation that…

That sounded like… the window?

Turning on her heels, she spun to look at her window and sure enough, he was perched there like a sparrow. With his cheeky smile that she could just imagine beneath that mask, the tiny wave of his hand and… the bouquet in the other?

"Are you going to let me in?" I chuckled lowly against the glass.

Snapped out of her thoughts, Angela walked over to stand by the window, fingers hovering above the latch. "Oh, you’ve dyed your hair green.”

“Yeah, I did for the mission.”

“It’s been awhile since I saw you like this,” she giggled.

A helpless smile crawled onto my lips and I instinctively tugged at the scarf, suddenly feeling uncomfortable without my suit. Green hair was when she first saw him, lying in a pool of blood, left for dead.

Seeing his unease, Angela frowned and forced a smile. “What are the flowers for?”

Pulled out of his panicking mind, he plastered on his usual charming smile as though there was nothing wrong and leaned in closer, his breath slightly misting the glass.

“Open the window and you’ll find out.”

“Well, I wouldn't have to if you used the door like you usually would."

I burst into laughter at her smirk. "But then I wouldn't be able to surprise our resident angel if I just told you.” Holding the bouquet of pastel coloured snapdragons closer to her, “This is for you."

Angela's smile grew wider and she unlocked the window for the ninja to climb through who sat comfortably on the window sill and passed the large bouquet over. “Permission finally granted,” I laughed.

Grinning, she easily teased back. “Of course. With the right code, permission is always granted for you, Genji.” She breathed in the smell, her muscles relaxing at the fragrance. "Thank you. They're lovely. What's the special occasion?"  

I, Genji, or specifically known as Sparrow during missions, shook my head. "No special occasion."  _ I just thought they were fitting. After all, you're the reason for my strength. For me to continue living even though I'm a monster. For me to find what it feels to be a human again. _

Angela hummed thoughtlessly while softly caressing a petal. "How was the mission?"

"It was alright. Boring because I couldn't see you," I teased.

With a soft laugh, she leaned against the wall by the windowsill, already used to my teasing. I then proceeded to brief her about the mission specifics and watched her as she listened intently despite having to later read about them in the reports. Since the mission was drug-related, she'd have to perform tests on each member to clear us after.

A gentle breeze wafted through the open window, carrying with it the soft strands of her hair and sweet fragrance of snapdragons. Her soft smile. Clear, vivid blue eyes appreciating the buds. The curve of her long lashes kissing the highs of her cheeks.

I stared dumbfounded at the scene before me. Heat rushed to my cheeks and the machines in me began to whirl in attempt to cool my body down. Did I just feel steam coming out of my body?

"Genji! Are you okay!"

Shaking my head and scooting further away, I reassured her that I was fine, but my heart was in no way fine. I tugged the scarf higher to cover half my face, avoiding her concerned gaze. She can't pull those shots at me after not seeing her for over a month and expect my beating heart to not stay still! Fine, even if I saw her everyday and it'll still be the same, but still!

Angela watched me warily and forcefully turned my head to her. We stared at each other for moments I couldn't track. My eyes bore into hers and I swore, my heart melted at the concern scanning my face, seemingly as deep as the ocean.

Pulling myself together, I leaned forward. Lifting her chin up higher with my fingers, I softly caressed her cheek with my thumb. Confusion aroused in her gaze and I wished to kiss those wrinkles. My lips parted, but they closed after a long while of silence. I cursed inwardly in my heart as my burst of confidence suddenly ran away. For someone with years as a playboy, I can't seem to be able to ask her out.

_ A doctor that saved your life. _

_ A BEAUTIFUL doctor that saved your life. _

_ Hush, you're ruining the moment. _

_ Your existence ruins everything. _

I released my hold on her face and rubbed my temples at the angelic and devilish voices arguing in my head.

"Genji…?"

Angela reached out her hand to me, but I swiftly turned to the side. "I-I'm fine!" With a nervous chuckle, I continued, "Will you be staying late here again?"

She pursed her lips and took a step back, but never questioned it. Turning around, she set the bouquet on the table. "Yeah, I will be. You coming for coffee?"

"Of course. And I'll bring dinner."

"Sounds perfect to me."

There, that smile. So beautiful and charming. Oh, my heart. Shit, I'm overheating again.

"Great, I'll see you at 9."

~*~*~

"The notions of feedback loops and homeostasis are also essential to molecular biology and biomedicine. There are some issues of non-linearity and non-equilibrium that the author poked at is being addressed everywhere. It's a good progress in the industry!"

I smiled and nodded as she spoke. In my hands were a box of bento and a pair of chopsticks. Dinner, as I would call it. A pair of now cold coffee mugs stood to the side.

"I mean like, in the field of prosthesis, people are working to understand, create and improve artificial limbs to main normal body functions even after the loss of limbs. I even saw that a child using her new robotic arm for the first time and it worked perfect! Isn't that amazing? The nerves must have…"

I lost her from then on, but I still listened nonetheless. Gradually, I finished my meal, but my sweet Angela was still going on about her medical stuff. With eyes still trained on her, I gently nudged her hand with the chopsticks to start moving and chuckled softly when she subconsciously moved to pick up a piece of chicken and chew.

"Science and technology have come so far! I'm sure that ordinary people can afford this in the future too!"

"Mmm," I nodded, nudging her hand once more and silence veiled us for the briefest of moments as she ate and swallowed her dinner. I sipped at the coffee, welcoming the burning alcohol sensation mixed with the bitterness of the beans down my throat. This pattern would go on into the late of the night, where the exhaustion of the mission finally made me succumb unwillingly.

"Then, do you know —"

Angela halted mid-sentence as she watched the overworked agent napping. Chin resting on his palm, the arm propped against a knee and a coffee mug dangling dangerously off a relaxed hand. With a smile, she stood up after finishing the last of her dinner and started to clean up the small coffee table.

_ Click. _

With the door locked behind her, she picked up her unfinished book and sat down on the sofa next to the asleep young man. Fair slender fingers gingerly lifted his head as she maneuvered his body so that he could comfortably lie on her thighs. With the spectacles perched on her nose, she began to read once more as her free hand repeatedly combed through his bright green hair, the bouquet of snapdragons standing proudly in a vase on the coffee table. Soft yet prickly to touch, and occasionally, she’d massage his scalp. If he had been awake, just open his eyes at that moment, he'd see the adoration reflected in her eyes. The appreciation, the tenderness. Her fingers traced the scars on his face, just lightly like a feather for fear of jolting him awake, and imagined kissing each one slowly, telling him: 'You're strong. Perfect the way you are. These scars don't define you.' She lifted her fingers to her smile, gentle like the ocean breeze, and pressed the fingertips to her lips. They lingered there for a moment as her gaze upon his face softened. She then dropped her hand, those fingers pressing lightly against his own scarred lips.

_ 'Goodnight, Genji.' _

The next month passed by like a routine. Tito confessed and provided intel as persuaded (threatened) by Gabriel Reyes, and so every agent was being posted more often.

Angela was staying late a lot more too, each night later than the one before and I realised she never left her office unless necessary as well.

I rapped at her door twice, thinking nothing of it. For this past month, I've been using the door like any other normal human being. Just the thought made me grin.

A group of doctors passed by Angela's office and with my back to them, I failed to see their bodies stiffening, huddling closer together, and footsteps rushing to leave faster.

"Going on a mission?" Came her gentle voice.

"Mmm, a solo one. It won't take long."

She nodded her head and I left with her well wishes, grinning like a man that won the lottery beneath the mask.

"Hi commander," I greeted Jack as I bumped into him in my way out of her office. 

"Good morning. Good luck on your mission."

"Thank you, sir."

I walked away, past the corridor and out the building as Jack walked into Angela's office. "Going home soon?"

…

In the past month that passed, I still saw Angela from time to time, and it was more than before. Occasionally, I'll inform her of my mission status like I just did; a sorry excuse to see her really, but she never pushed me away. And there was still the snacks of Swiss chocolates, and dinner dates, at least I hoped they were, with her coffee.

But to be sure, I still planned to formally ask her out. Looking at myself in the mirror, at all the scars, the disfiguration, the ugliness… — it would be fine. It would definitely be fine. Combing my hair and straightening my back, I put my mask back on, the cool metal washing my nervousness away just by the slightest.

I grabbed the two unconscious snakes of the underground drug ring on my way out the door, my footsteps lighter and quicker than usual. My mission today was complete and it had taken nearly a week. These snakes were so slippery I wished I could just burn them all, but the head hasn't appeared, so that idea was scrapped. For now, time to go home.

And just for the sake of continuing the tradition, I even stopped by the florist and got three stems of a red rose.

~*~*~

The room was dim. Almost like it was… lifeless. I knocked against the window again, but like my attempts before, no one responded.

Did she finally see my ugliness and wanted to stay at?

No way. She's not like that. Did she go home?

_ She hates you now. You can't give her anything she wants. You were just a medical experiment of hers. _

_ No! She's kind and loving. And she just wanted to save you. _

I clutched at the rose, the plastic wrinkling and its stem snapping. A dull throb drummed my head. That's right. I'll try her apartment.

But it was to no luck. There was no one. Not even furniture. Did she move? But where? But why?

Slumping against the wall, I ignored the friction and tried to suppress the ache in my heart as I slid down, inch by inch, until my metal butt touched the floor.

Where did she go? Shrouded by the shadows of the evening sunlight streaming through the window, I hung my head low. The rose falls listlessly.

It hurt. Hurt being left in the dark, hurt just being left. I scratched at the spot above my heart, but I only heard the pained beating in my chest.

_ No, I refuse to believe in anything bad. Angela will never do this. Something must have happened to her! _

She was strong. She always was. And I believe in her.

~*~*~

A week ago.

A deep sigh escaped her lips. Dark bags weighed on her blue eyes as all the fatigue settled into her bones. Her days in the Investigation Bureau hasn't been easy. If she wasn't assigned to missions of saving people, it was examining dead bodies, and if not, it was to survive the politics of the bureau.

Dumping her bag onto the table, hands brushing against the snapdragons she brought home, she walked into the kitchen and pulled open the cabinet door before going to the fridge, her mouth wide open in a yawn.

Angela grabbed and attempted to unscrew the 1-litre juice bottle as she yawned again, tears instantly springing into her eyes. "Ugh, why the hell — so difficult! Just open already! ...aha! Finally!"

Now successful, she turned around.

"Oof!"

A sharp pain assaulted her head as she knocked onto the open cabinet door. The juice bottle she painstakingly opened slipped and fell as her hands automatically flew up to cradle her head.

"Shit!" Angela tried to clear her head as she heard and felt the juice pulp splashing and pooling by her feet and proceeded to bend down when her foot slipped. "Fu - ahhh!"

And then there was a loud crash.

…

"Angela? Angela!" Heavy footsteps cautiously walked into the room after he inputted the passcode into the electronic door lock.

A sweet fruity smell filled his senses, yet he saw no one.

Until he came around into the kitchen.

"Oh my God. Angela!"


	2. A Second For Eternity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genji searches for Mercy, only for his efforts to end in vain. Wait, men are clearing out her office? Stop! That's Dr Ziegler's stuff!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh God, it's 2.33am.  
> Excuse any mistakes but I do hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also Antibiotica is courtesy of fpseudwriter!

**Day 2: A Second For Eternity**

 

Dear reader, I wish I could tell you that it ends well.

That I found her after two weeks, that nothing had actually happened to her, that it was just a simple misunderstanding. Perhaps, she had gone on an impromptu trip to the Arctic to see the penguins and polar bears, to be surrounded by all the fluff and majestic wonders of life in the ice and snow, doing all those research and contemplating on medical magic like she normally would.

Because last night, I dreamt that I woke up after lying asleep on her lap — one of my favourite moments in life. I closed my eyes and drew in a lung full of air, letting out a contented sigh. I focused on her fingers in my hair, the sound of paper rustling and smelled the alcoholic coffee wafting in the room. A few minutes stretched out like an eternity, a blissful eternity. Outside the room, the pitter patter of rain began to fall.

“Oh, it’s raining.” A whisper barely audible tickling my ears.

“Mmm, it would seem like it is.”

There was silence when she spoke again. “If I recall, it was raining when I found you too.”

My body stiffened at her words and my eyes finally cracked open, falling first on the ever present smile, and I instinctively relaxed. “Yeah, it was raining just like this at that time.”

She hummed and went back to her book, and I went back to enjoying her warmth. These moments were just short intermissions from the daily hecticness of our lives, but it was all we needed at times.

“I’m glad that I did though.”

“Huh?” My eyes flew open.

She peeked over her book, her gaze glinting in amusement from behind the glasses. “It allowed me to meet you.”

I shifted on her lap so that I fully faced her and I chuckled when she jumped at my hand touching her cheek. With her attention stolen from the book, I gazed at her as the world around me fall away.

I vividly remember my lips parting as I wanted to tell her — tell her things that I left unsaid, but when I saw the dull white ceiling of my single bedroom dormitory, I was slapped in the face, back into the harsh reality; That I still haven’t seen her in the past two weeks, of neither hide nor hair. Not even my calls or texts were going through. I initially thought that she hadn’t texted me in that week I was away because she hadn’t wanted to disturb me during the mission, but even two weeks later? It’s been a long time… And the worst is not even seeing her in the office.

I stared at the door to her office from the corridor when a couple of men appeared and entered. Confused, I walked forward, only to stand there with mouth agape.

“What are you all doing with Dr. Ziegler’s possessions?” I fought the urge to raise my voice and tried to stay calm. But everything was a bubble of a mess inside me. Why were they taking her things away? Those are her books! Wait, stop! Why are you packing them away!

“Stop blocking our way. Please move.” One of the men stood before me and groaned. In his hands was an archive box filled with Angela’s papers and I wanted to reach out and grab them when I heard his partner’s voice.

“Hey man, be careful. That’s the cyborg the lady doctor was working on. Don’t piss him off.”

I turned back to the first man, watching him freeze and stiffen up like a statue. His face paled and he took a step back. “S-Sorry! I didn’t mean to be rude. We’re just hired to clean out the office.”

I shook my head and asked calmly, “On whose orders?”

I watched him visibly swallow the lump in his throat before gathering the courage to reply, “A Jack Morrison hired and authorised us for this task.”

Jack Morrison? Commander? Why?

Despite the anger and shock, I nodded and slipped to the corridor, watching the men strip the office bare. The other agents walked past me whispering under their breaths and I resolutely walked away when the men finished the last bits of the packing. Fists clenched and lips tightly pursed.

I had to get to the bottom of this.

…

“Thank you. We’ll send a team out on that mission too. This should finally attract the head guy to appear.”

“Yes, sir.”

Commander Jack Morrison looked through the intel report on his desk, skimming through the details as he decided on the agents to send when a knock came on his door.

“Come in,” he said without looking up.

“Sir —”

“Oh, Genji. Perfect timing. I was just thinking of looking for you. I have here another mission to send you on. McCree and Tracer will be going with you.”

My mouth hung open and I forcefully swallowed the words lodged in my throat. Straightening myself, I subjected myself to his command before heading out the door. Looking at the copy of the mission details, I gritted my teeth and the paper crumpled from under my fist. Endure, I just got to endure.

_‘Endure till I see you again. I just owe you too much.’_

My footsteps brought me down the corridor, muscle memory serving its purpose as I was led back to my room. Dropping the missions papers on the table, I walked over to a thick journal by my bedside table, picked up the pen beside it and opened the book. Neat handwriting was scrawled across the pages and I relished in the small reprieve the flipping of pages gave me, until it stopped. Wedged in between were three roses, dried and flattened, with stems cut till only a couple of inches left. As carefully and gently as I could, I slipped the dried flowers off the pages and set them on the table. I sighed deeply, the flames in me dying into ashes as I lightly traced the petals before turning back to the book.

_‘Just where are you, Angela? Are you well?’_

There’s so many things that I left unsaid. If I knew you were going to disappear on me like this one day, I would have told you everything. The agony was eating away inside me, like a parasite latching onto my veins for life.

Do you think that I’m ungrateful? I wished you knew that I wasn’t. I really do owe you so much… You came and made me who I am, and I remember when it all began so clearly.

With shaky fingers, I removed my mask and buried my eyes in my hands, ignoring the wetness that dripped through the cracks and stained the pages.

_‘You know, I really wanted to tell you so many things.’_

Thank you for saving my life.

Thank you for talking through my agony and pain, my anxieties and depression, for smoothing out the mountains in my mind, for reassuring me when I’m overwhelmed.

Thank you for loving the parts of myself that I hate, and for helping me love them too.

Thank you for giving me so much to look forward to.

Thank you for being you.

~*~*~

“ _Incoming suspect, guys,_ ” Tracer called over the communication earpiece as she tailed the suspect from behind. “ _He’s rounding up the corner 200 meters ahead of me. He’ll be coming up your way, McCree._ ”

“ _Copy that, Tracer. I’m in position.”_

I shared a glance with the cowboy who nodded his head. Returning his nod, I leapt away and scaled up the walls of an alleyway opposite his position.

“ _Incoming!”_

I turned my head away with eyes shut at the signal just as the flashbang exploded. Amidst the blinding white light, tyres were screeching like panicked banshees when a heavy crash boomed. Opening my eyes, I flexed my muscles, feeling the blood rushing through me as I gripped the handle of my usual katana strapped across my back. Without the suit would it then call for my dual dagger-katana.

“Argh! Who are you guys! Don’t think that you’re going to get out of here alive!” The suspect, Jax raged.

At his words, I began to see shadows approaching from the distance on the rooftops. We were currently in a rural location. Buildings were old and rundown with walls filled with colourful graffiti. Ladders lined the walls of the alleyways and I watched as a few snipers began to take point on the roofs. Lips pursed, eyes sharp, I dashed forward a few meters and jumped off the ledge, silently landing beside one who immediately turned.

_Bang!_

At point blank, his shot would have landed but —

_‘Denied.’_

With two hands on my sword, I held it in front of my chest as the sword gleamed green when it deflected the bullet. Stepping forward, I slashed out horizontally in a wide arc, the blade cleanly slicing through his neck and I quickly ducked down low behind the ledge. A .300 caliber sniper rifle bullet instantly whizzed past my head, just shy of my hair by an inch, and I tugged the dead man’s sniper rifle out of his hands. Anchoring the rifle on the crook of my arm, I swiftly pulled the bolt out of its battery with my right arm before feeling the brass underneath my left hand’s fingertips. With a bullet in the chamber, I rested the sniper rifle on my shoulder as I took a deep breath in.

_‘From the trajectory of the .300 caliber bullet, the enemy is most likely… !’_

Strong and steady, I peeked over the ledge with the sniper rifle aimed and just as I deduced, there was a peach coloured ball just above the ledge some meters away, his sniper rifle trained onto me.

_Bang!_

I pulled the trigger just like he did, but unlike him, I was a trained _ninja_ ; A _cyberised, enhanced_ ninja. His bullet neared me as mine neared him, but in my eyes, the silver sheen slowed to the point that its blurry silhouette sharpened. I could see the contours and metallic shine of its body, and it was in that split second that I picked up my dropped katana with my left hand and brought it before me.

_Cling!_

As I deflected the shot, I dashed towards my next target, pure confidence oozing out because I knew — I will never miss. Running along the ledge, I spotted the next marksman a couple of ten odd meters away, his sniper rifle aimed at my team below. Unhesitantly, I threw out a shuriken without a pause. The gun was knocked aside as he cried out and I jumped over to land onto the other side with quick lightning steps. Spinning on my heel, I stabbed my blade through and through his neck, severing the trachea and spine. Seeing no other shadows perched on the rooftops, I stood there silently with a frown. There was a prickle in my neck that told me: This wasn’t all.

“Have you secured Jax yet?” I asked the team.

 _“Just — about! The guy’s as slippery as an eel!”_ Tracer cried out over the rain of bullets.

“Affirmative.” I swept my gaze across the roofs before it sharpened.

 

He only saw the figure blurring into nothing the very next second and he felt the panic multiply. _‘Who the hell is he? He’s not human!’_ His chubby fingers trembled against his gun, the metal rattling against the cement ledge. This wasn’t something he signed up for! He was only told to escort some old dude and that the danger was minimal, that it was only for show! ‘ _What is this! Those people are clearly some next level shit! Mummy!’_

A gust of wind assaulted his face and he shrunk back in fear, trying to make his larger frame as small as he could. A shadow loomed overhead and he slowly craned his head up. From staring at the uneven surface of the rooftop and yelping as the sight of a pair of metal boots, before trailing up the slender, muscular body and finally fainting at spine-chilling figure fully cladded in metal who stared at him coldly through the green visor.

 

I lowered my katana while my frown deepened. I ignored the wet patch by the man’s pants and promptly took a step back while picking up his gun… or not, but yet I had to, because if the grass wasn’t cut and roots not pulled, it would grow back and possibly become a bigger problem in the future. Sighing, I ultimately removed his gun and made sure he was well unconscious before scouting the area. With no other enemies around, I circled back to my team, seeing them capturing and securing Jax. And that came to our prelude of luring the snake’s head out.

Upon returning to base, I was about to drag my feet through the doors when McCree pulled me back by the shoulder, trying to charm his way with that lopsided grin of his. “Hey, Genji. Are you hungry?”

“No.”

“I heard that there was a newly opened cafe not too far from here. Did you want to go and check it out?”

“No.”

“Oh, did I hear a YES? Alrighty, howdy hoo. Let’s go! Lena, you’re coming along too right!”

“Of course. Count me in!”

I groaned at my predicament.

 

But… I’m glad McCree dragged me there. Because there hidden away, was the one person I was looking for.

~*~*~

D _ing!_

“Good afternoon! Welcome to Mercy’s Apothecary! How may I help you today?”

A smile as beautiful as I remembered, dazzling and blinding in my eyes, and I stood there, mouth agape in shock like a green coloured goldfish. I lifted a shaky finger at her, lips quivering. I blinked, hard. But she was still there, standing in all her glory before me. Her blonde hair was not in her usual ponytail but hanging loosely around her neck with a slight curl at the end. Her glasses sat comfortably atop her head, and with her standing in a white blouse and black pencil skirt, she looked as fresh as a white lotus in full bloom.

I turned to look at McCree and Tracer, eyebrows furrowed into a deep ‘V’ as my fury was about to materialise when I saw their stunned expressions as well.

It would seem like they hadn’t known either.

“Pardon me. Is everything all right? Is it a table for three?”

I turned my head back towards her, my eyes zoning in onto her nametag. Sure enough, it did read ‘Angela’, but was it our Angela Ziegler? Taking a step forward, I summoned the courage to ask, “If I be so rude as to ask, would your name be Angela Ziegler?”

“Huh? How do you know my name?”

And it was that one sentence that shattered my hopes. With a bitter smile on my face, I shook my head and said, “It was just a lucky guess.” But how many people were actually named Ziegler? “And yes, a table for three, please.”

A tense silence pervaded our table as us three watched Angela’s back disappear behind the counter after handing us the menus.

“Was that really Dr. Ziegler?” Tracer asked incredulously.

“It… would seem so.” McCree laid back on his chair with his mouth slightly open. “Why is she here?”

The both of them trained their eyes on me simultaneously and I raised my scarf to cover my mouth. “I don’t know.” I glanced at her happily working by the counter. “She looks happy.”

The two chorused their agreements.

“Anyhow, let’s just order something first!” Tracer chirped.

Awhile later, Angela came back with her pen and pad. “Are you ready for your orders?”

I faintly heard both McCree and Tracer ordered a meal each, but I couldn’t stop staring at her. The way her hair bounced with her steps and the pearly whites peeking beneath her pink lips. I saw her head turn towards me and I panicked, instantly sitting straight and forcing on a smile.

“And for you?” she asked.

“Surprise me.”

With a nod, she noted everything down and left. At that point, I finally relaxed and slumped against the car. Why? Just why?

Did she really not remember anything?

When she returned, I smelled the familiar scent of green tea pervading my senses and I looked up at her. Pointing at the cup she placed before me, she introduced, “That’s Antibiotica. A special blend of green tea leaves for you.”

“Thank you.”

I couldn’t help the soft smile that sneaked onto my face, even if it was hidden behind my scarf. Even though it was not the usual alcoholic coffee, holding the familiar green tea was enough to relax my senses. Pulling my scarf down, I took a sip. “It’s delicious.”

I watched her stare at me silently and I quirked an eyebrow. Catching my stare, her smile widened as she flushed red. “Perfect. Call me if you need anything else.”

“Will do.”

Looking down at my tea, I gently swirled it around as I recollected my thoughts. Was she well? What happened to her that caused her disappearance? And all my plans of asking her out had just flown out the window. She didn’t even remember me. She will most definitely not even remember any of the times we’ve spent together… No more sneaking through the windows, no more dinners with coffee… And she was definitely not there to watch my back out in the field either.

I flinched when a pang attacked my heart. It was a pain that I’m so familiar with yet wished I wasn’t.

Watching Angela laugh with her colleague, all thoughts blanked out. Her colleague was a short Asian girl with similar designed spectacles and hair styled in an updo, and Angela really did look happy working here.

I suppose, it didn’t hurt to visit more often.

…

And that I did.

For the next three weeks, I frequently visited the cafe and today, it was fully decked out with bouquets in hues of purple and white. The buds were small and dainty with leaves larger than a whole stem of them.

“Good morning, Genji,” Angela beamed. “The usual today?”

“Yes, please. Good morning to you too, Angela.” In these three weeks, I’ve finally accustomed myself to never being remembered by her and I’ve accepted that fact. But no, I’ve not given up. If I could make her care for me before, I’m sure I can do it again. “What’s the theme today?” I motioned towards the flowers.

“Heliotropes. Ana just harvested a fresh bunch of them this morning and so I bought them and decorated the cafe like this. They have a special meaning of eternal love. Lovely, aren’t they?”

“Mhmm, they are.” I thanked her and accepted the cup of Antibiotica as she also placed a sandwich before me.

“On the house. It’s always good to eat breakfast to start off your day.”

Grinning, I leaned forward and said. “Then I should come here more often in the mornings. Feed me so that I stay strong throughout the day.”

Her laughter sounded like a love song in my head and it brought upon a wave of laughter from myself too. “You’re already strong. Even without my sandwiches.”

“But yours are naturally the best.” I winked and took a bite. “Absolutely the best.”

“Haha, they’re just simple ham, cheese and tomato sandwiches.” As her giggles died down, she continued, “But I’m glad you love them.”

The cafe was quiet today with only a couple of other patrons drinking their coffee and reading the papers. We continued in silence for awhile and I ignored her staring in favour of my sandwich. It’s been like that for some time now. I wonder if my scars irked her. Did she find them ugly? After all, she’s no longer the same Dr. Ziegler that saved my life.

“Say, Genji…”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

My hand flew to my mouth as I nearly spat my tea out. Coughing, I felt the burn in my throat and nose as I patted my chest. I was definitely not expecting that! “N-No, I don’t. Why?”

“Hmm… Oh, nothing.”

But I could tell from her voice that there _was_ something. With a sigh, I traced the rim of my cup. “I wished I did. Do you want to hear a story?” Seeing her eager nod, I bitterly chuckled and stared at my hands before pulling at my long sleeves to cover them up, the sight somehow suddenly ghastly and nauseating. “I used to have a crush on this woman. She was beautiful — inside and outside. She was so kind and caring. And she was a great doctor.”

Angela nodded her head as I spoke, yet I saw nothing but flashbacks of my memories. From the time in the pattering rain of when she found me, bloodied and about to die, to the fury and denials I held in Blackwatch, to then the soft, tender memories of dinner and coffee.

“You know, I wanted to ask her out. Like formally ask her out. But one day, she just disappeared.” I lifted my head to look at her before quickly turning away, afraid that she’d see the agonised love I had for her through my eyes. It felt like I’ve loved her forever and despite her memory loss, I’ve not lost one bit of it.

“You must really love her.” She softly whispered, just barely audible for me to hear, even with my enhanced hearing.

“Yeah,” I breathed out. “Forever, if I could.”

 

On that very same day, I found myself returning to the cafe before it closed. I wasn’t sure why, but I felt like I _had_ to come. I just had to.

“Genji?” Angela walked over with another cup of Antiobiotica. “That doctor lover of yours couldn’t have been a Ziegler too right?”

Thunder struck me. Jumping out of my seat, I held her shoulders as desperation shone. “You remember? Did you finally remember?”

I deflated when she refused to say a word while stubbornly staring at the floorboards, causing me to reluctantly release my hold and staggered back to my seat. “O-Oh. I’m sor-sorry. I thought you did.”

Seeing no other customers coming in, she took the seat next to me and gingerly held my hand. I relished in her cool fingertips tracing the scars of what was left of the human part of me when she suddenly lifted it to her lips. Shivers trailed up my spine as heat crept onto my cheeks.

“It _was_ nice remembering you.”

I gulped. “So you do remember me?” Fear was evident. Ugily mashed with hope and desperation.

She shook her head. “No, but I remember loving you.”

Eternal love? But how long was forever? Sometimes, just one second.


	3. It Must End Before Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genji found Mercy, but now, he's in a boatload of angst.

**Day 3: It Must End Before Beginning**

She then traced another scar before continuing in a softer voice. “I always get this feeling that I knew you because your face always gave me this sense of… familiarity, like I’ve seen it before.”

“And you’d definitely not find another face like mine,” I joked, seemingly feeling much lighter than I did in the last three weeks. I was elated. Just, absolutely positively elated! If she remembered loving me, that meant Angela shared the same feelings as I did before. Didn’t that mean I had a chance still? I could make her fall in love with me all over again and we could always start anew!

She returned my smile and settled my hand back onto the table before putting some distance between us. She wasn’t sure before but seeing those scars brought upon an ache deep in her heart she hadn’t known she could feel. Each and every line, no matter how faint or deep, they drew her in like a moth to a flame. Why though? She was just an ordinary cafe owner, but the young man before her had told her otherwise. Dr. Angela Ziegler, the head of medical research for an organisation long fallen — Overwatch — before then being recruited into the Investigation Bureau as head of medical staff. Everything sounded so surreal. Her? With medicine? God no. The most ‘healing’ she could do was bandaging a knife cut!

She fiddled with her fingers while letting out a sigh. Her eyes met his and she held her gaze, all traces of her tenderness gone in a blink. Yes, she remembered the wisps of the love her heart used to have, the familiarity, the mere comfort his presence held, but —

That was not her. Not anymore.

Other than the gut of a feeling, she had nothing else to go by. No memories or even the slightest form of recollection. Nothing. The best part was that she felt nothing, nothing for him at all.

“Look, Genji. I don’t want us to have a misunderstanding and I feel like I need to get this straight.” Taking another deep breath, she took a step back but that small increase of distance pulled my heartstrings taut. A bad premonition washed over me and I met her steady gaze. Even her customer service smile faded away. “I may remember loving you, but that’s clearly in the past. Right now, I don’t really know you well and I don’t feel the same.”

“B-But…”

‘ _Then why your tenderness? Why treat me so well? Why —’_

My thoughts were interrupted when the door to the cafe opened. I opened my mouth to say something but Angela had instantly plastered on her customer service smile and greeted the newcomer, my presence seemingly vanishing into nothing. I watched in anguish, choking on air, as I vividly saw her eyes suddenly brightened and a beaming smile — bigger than any she ever gave him — upon realising who it was.

“Jacky! Jack!” she giggled and quickly circled the table to bound up before him. “My knight! Hehe.”

Jack chuckled at the bundle of joy rocking back and forth on her heels as his attention immediately focused onto her. He patted her cheek affectionately in case he soiled her spectacles with his fingerprints. “I told you not to call me that.”

"No way, sir. I can't follow your orders," she teased. With a grin, she led him to his usual table by the window and helplessly, he followed, knowing full well that she’d continue in her stubborn ways. Dusk was beginning to fall and it was already after work hours. People were making their way home or for dinner, to brave the traffic or wait it out, or people like him, visiting a cafe that was out of their way just to see someone.

Angela scanned the blond man, taking notice of the fine lines evident on his face and shadows beneath his eyes. Fatigue was clear from his slumped shoulders and slight scowl of his eyebrows. “Rough day at work?”

“Not really. It’s confidential but just,” Jack sighed. “We’ve just been trying to catch this guy but he’s too slippery and smart. We’ve already caught his right-hand man but it seems like he’s willing to sacrifice a few key men to save his own hide.”

"Sounds difficult," Angela tenderly rubbed the space between his eyebrows with her thumb. A small ministration, not in any way explicitly loving, but she was tender, soft and gentle as she cared. “But don’t think too much about it now. I’m sure you’ll catch him. Do you want your usual?”

“Yes, please Angie.” Jack smiled softly at her, the adoration so clear in his gaze. When she came back, she had in her hands a cup filled with soft green tea and a plate of food. “Mushroom, steak and cheese?” He asked upon seeing the pie.

“Yeap, saved the last one for you.”

“You’re an angel.”

“I know I am. Enjoy,” she sang.

He picked up his cup of Antibiotica and took a bite of his food as she left to tend to a few customers that were entering. The moment she left, his attention was solely on the food and drink at his mercy. He was famished, having to work more ever since Angela's 'resignation', but as he ate, he felt the piercing stare boring holes into his skin. The hairs on his neck bristled, as if rebelling against being put under such pressure. With a sharp gaze and an alert mind, he lifted his head at the direction, only to have it fall away into shock and panic. Why was he here?

_'No one was supposed to know. At least not yet.'_

However, thanks to the years of war-hardened experience, as fast as the panic came, it left just as quick. Calm and steady like a rock in the river. He gave the other man a little wave and that was when the man stood up, the chair scraping against the floorboards suddenly exceptionally loud and clear, and made his way over.

 

I pursed my lips and fisted the ends of my scarf. I _saw_ the way she looked at him, the way she tender lovingly cared for him, and it wasn't hard for my enhanced senses to pick up the scent of the exact blend of Antibiotica in his cup. I stared and stared, but I wasn't dreaming. That was definitely him; The same typical American blond man with blue eyes upon that chiselled face, muscular and tall, and a charm to his smile. It was a face I couldn't forget and one I couldn't be more familiar with as well. I inhaled. Deep breath in… before letting it all out through my nose. Yet, the flames didn't calm. Instead, they were blazing in a level headed manner, like a calm ocean before the storm hit, and underneath the surface were gremlins fanning the fury, the confusion, the uncertainty. There was a myriad of questions buzzing in my mind, the next not more pleasant than the one before, but all of them revolved around one thing —

"How long have you known, commander?" I spat through gritted teeth when I stood right before his very eyes.

"Good evening to you too, Genji." Commander Jack Morrison picked up his cup, lifted his chin and calmly sipped at his green tea. The smell of it caught my attention, a blend of leaves that’s become extremely familiar in the past three weeks before it was pulled away by his displeased tone. Crossing his legs and pursing his lips, he flatly replied, "That question of yours implies that I kept a secret from you. Although I disagree, I also possess no obligations to inform you of the affairs of my life."

"But you knew!!" I growled with eyes narrowed. "YOU KNEW!"

Jack merely side eyed me after I slammed my hands on the table, ignoring the stares of the other customers and workers.

The stench of the green tea began to smell nauseating. The warm, calming aroma now wretched, and my anger reached a whole new peak just watching, watching him sip, sip without a care at his tea. My growls deepened and my fingers dup deep into the wood. "You fucking knew she was here! Why didn't you tell us!"

Jack remained unfazed at my outburst, but it was that emotionless, unaffected expression that fuelled the fury that boiled in the pit of my stomach to overflow.

A hand shot out to grab Jack's collar but the blond man sat there still unimpressed, but his muscles were tensed and his body slumped in a deceptively relaxed manner. His nonchalant expression further fuelled my fury, the rage stirring at the cyborg in me. Signals were blaring, metals overheating — not from overwork, no. It was from the sheer, utter control of not _ripping his fucking American head off!_

_'Fuck his 'no obligations of not telling us'! Isn’t it fucking courtesy to inform? We've gone through bloodshed together! Wars together! Weren’t we a family? Or don't you think her old teammates would have liked to know!? I fucking would!!'_

"Genji!" A scream. "What are you doing!"

Just inches from Jack’s collar, a dainty hand latched onto my arm and I jerked to a stop midway. Her fair flesh, tinged with a slight pink, was a clear contrast to my cyborg one. My heart thumped as her fingers tightened their grip. She roughly pulled my arm down to the side and I let her without even a shred of resistance while my gaze was fixated on her hand. It was so small, the slender fingers barely gripping across my arm. As it tightened, nail digging into the metal, I felt the warm heat of her blood and I painfully craned my head up, only to flinch at the fire in her eyes, as if I’d accidentally touched a boiling pot. My shoulders fell, the energy sapping out of my body and into hers.

My eyes dropped, falling from her eyes and back to her hand. Of course, she’d protect Jack. Of course, _I’m the bad guy_. I’m no longer the same Genji in her heart — or in her memories.

“Just what were you doing!” Mercy seethed under her breath. “You can’t —”

“Of course I can’t!” I cut her off with a snap. This time she flinched back at the tone and I froze. Just what had I done? Yet, steeling myself, I summoned the remaining ounce of my anger, _my courage,_ and continued. “Of course you’d be protective over your _knight in shining armor_ . Isn’t he just the greatest?" Yes, I definitely heard and remembered what she called him. _My knight_. Just great. Of course, every woman would want their knight in shining armor. No one loved those in the darkness, where we crept and hid, doing the dirty work for those in the light. And I regretted the words only a long time after. "The perfect American poster boy. Perfect for you.” Not like me. A cybernetic monster.

But I couldn't hate her, even if she did create me into this monstrosity that I am — something that no one will ever love. Did they think I wouldn’t have noticed? The subtle mutterings under their breaths, the isolation, _the fear_? No one in the bureau liked me, with the exception of those from Overwatch. Even so, I'm still grateful; She still gave me another lease in life.

Her mouth hung open in shock before it twisted into an ugly scowl — yet why did it look beautiful to me still? Please, heart. Stop aching.

I watched silently, face set in stone. She was like a charging defibrillator, the pads held ready at bay, just biding its energy as sparks went off around her. But I’d let it hit me. Let it come before ending this. No need for anything more.

“You —”

Another hand, a larger and more calloused one gently draped over hers before prying her fingers away, slowly as though the glass would break. “Let me.” A deep, husky breath, and it sent shivers down my spine.

I’ve never seen the commander like this before. Soft and gentle, with the same tenderness that I knew all too well.

I used to look at her like that — I still do.

As the warmth of her fingers disappeared, I recomposed myself and faced Jack with a straight back, and spoke before he did. The air was becoming heavy, suffocating even. I breathed in a sharp inhale, the pressure curling around my heart but the smell of the green tea assaulted my senses, forcing me to choke and wheeze as the acid shot up my throat. I couldn’t. This was becoming way too much for me. Angela’s glare was sharp, like a dagger pierced through my heart and her dissatisfied scoff made the dagger dig in deeper with a good old wiggle too. An invisible force closed in, squeezing the organ further as it ached and bled.

I already hurt her. I don't deserve her. And I can't bear to be here anymore.

“I apologise for any offense earlier, commander. Have a nice meal. I’ll be taking my leave now.”

And thus, I turned on my heel without a single glance back. I seemed fine, that’s for sure. But my fingers shook, lips quivered and I felt a warmth in my eyes that I haven’t felt in years. Tugging the scarf higher, I took to the roofs with just the softest whimper and disappeared into the night, wishing so much: I could disappear forever.

 

Jack stared at the door swinging close, an indescribable feeling arising.

“Jack?”

He reigned in his feelings and smiled at a worried Angela. He patted the hand on his arm. “I’m fine. Are you alright?”

She shook her head. “I should be asking you that. That was quite rude of him.”

“Think nothing of it.” Jack seated himself again and this time, she followed. “Does he come here often?”

With a nod of her head, she began to explain, “He normally comes in the morning when I first open the cafe. Sometimes he’ll be here with his two other friends, a Lena and Jesse?”

“Jesse like a cowboy looking man?” Jack warily smiled.

“Mhmm. That’s him.” Angela sighed and stared at the half eaten pie. “Wait. Are they your colleagues? Genji called you ‘commander’.”

He could only resign himself to fate and nod. “Let’s not talk about that anymore. I’m more worried about you. How are you holding up in the cafe?”

At the mention of her cafe, her worry transformed into joy, oblivious to the quick change in topics. Her eyes twinkled and she was beaming. “It’s going great! It doesn’t get too busy sometimes but I love it! I was planning to have daffodils for the next theme next week since it would be four months since the cafe was opened. “New Beginnings”. Fitting wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah, it would be.” Just as the words left his mouth, he couldn’t help but think, ‘ _Four months already? Had the time pass that fast?_ ’

“I really don’t know what I’d do without you,” Angela continued. “I don’t remember much in my life since I woke up from the hospital but you’ve always been there for me. Thank you.”

A stifling sensation gripped at him when he forced out a smile. “You’re welcome. I was just lucky that I was there when I saw you unconscious and bleeding on the floor of your apartment.”

“Yeah, that was lucky. Must have been fate or something,” she pondered. He watched lovingly as her eyes looked up in thought and her head cocked to the side with a pout on her lips.

 _‘It wasn’t fate, Angie.’_ He thought solemnly. ‘ _It really wasn’t._ ’

“But now you’ve helped me start this cafe! And it’s a dream come true. How’d you know I would have loved this?”

As she turned her head to him, he bitterly laughed in his heart. _‘I sure knew indeed. Way back when you were head of medical research, you mentioned you’d open one when you retire from the battlefield and healing.’_

“Oh, I’m not sure. A lucky guess?”

“You sure are lucky, Jacky.” She didn’t pursue further into the topic and leaned back onto the chair. “It was a good new beginning for me. Thank you.”

“And you’re welcome.” Jack smiled and finally resumed his meal. “How’s Mei coming along? She working well?”

“Yeah, she is! She makes really good iced drinks, and her bubble tea is to die for! I personally love the passion fruit black tea one. Just amazing.”

“She’s earning money for her expedition right?” Jack swallowed a mouthful of pie but his eyes never left hers more than a second.

“To the Arctic I think.”

Jack hummed a little under his breath. It was good for her to have reliable colleagues to work with. There were few customers that were arriving at the cafe on a Friday night, with only a few university students appearing for an evening snack, though they were mostly eager for Mei’s bubble tea. Jack and Angela laughed as they chatted, a nice little bubble for themselves as she took her break.

“Mei, could I please have your daily special today?” A young university student asked sweetly.

The cheerful woman behind the counter laughed. “Of course! Anything for you!”

As Mei turned around to begin her magic, the door to the cafe slammed open with a loud bang as it hit the connecting wall and a loud, boisterous voice cried out, “What about me, snowflake!?” She stared at the doors, a furrow in her brows while her rounded tassel tinkled in her hair. She was not in the slightest bit surprised at the chaotic man before her. “Where’s my bobba!”

A resigned sigh escaped, but a smile played off her upturned lips. “You want some? Get in line.”

“But snowflaaaaaake, I travelled so far to come see you.” The man ambled to stand before her and the university student scooted away, a slight fear in her eyes. Mei looked up at him as she fought to keep her mind straight. He was tall, just standing there with that toothy grin, so sure that she’d give in.

She ignored the cheeky glint in his amber eyes with a roll of hers. “Go line up. I’ll make you your favourite if you do.”

“And if I don’t?”

“You can drink Angela’s coffee.”

“Noooooo,” he whined, but seeing as how Mei wouldn't budge, he pouted and took a huge step back, the metallic stump thumping against the floorboard. “Fine. I’ll wait.”

Mei chuckled at his sinister little laugh as he rubbed his hands together before telling the student, “I’m sorry for making you wait. Your bubble tea will be ready soon."

Jack stared at the man that just came in with a frown. ‘ _I know that man… but where?_ ’ The man had blonde hair that was slightly singed and his hands were stuffed into the ragged cutoff shorts. The black tank top hung loosely on his lean body and he tapped his foot albeit impatiently. He clenched and unclenched his hands, one of flesh and one of metal.

Feeling a heavy stare on his back, Jamison Fawkes, or better known as Junkrat, tilted his head back with an arrogant scowl. Upon seeing a familiar face in the room sitting next to a pretty blonde lady, he grinned toothily at the agent. “Hello there, commander. What’cha doing nowadays? Definitely not catching me! Wahahaha!”

The voice snapped Jack out of his thoughts as it finally clicked. “You!” He stood up from his chair. “Aren’t you in prison?”

Junkrat giggled evilly and showed him two fingers held out as a ‘V’. "I'm out, mate! Have been for a week now! It’s a new beginning for me!" Jack gritted his teeth as he watched Junkrat wiggled his hips and mockingly grin. "Can't do nothing about, mate! I ain't doing anything wrong. Hehehe."

"Behave yourself, Jamie. Or you're still having that coffee," berated Mei from behind the counter as she handed the student her drink.

“No —” Noticing that he's next in line, Junkrat immediately hopped to stand innocently before the counter with a grin, the words of refusal swallowed back down. "I’m sorry. I’ll behave. Do I get my drink now, snowflake?"

Mei glanced at Jack whose face was as black as the pot's bottom. She knew that there was nothing the commander could do because technically, an ex-convict buying bubble tea wasn't really a crime.

"Snowflaaaake," Junkrat whined. "Baby, my bobba."

She turned her attention back to him with a serious look, but her eyes danced with mirth just hearing him say 'bobba'. He hasn't stopped with that ever since she taught him that. "Get your ass thrown back in jail and no more bobba for you."

"Nope!" He straightened himself like an upright man. "Definitely not! The juice they served in prison were gross. So fake. Blergh. Don't ever want to drink that again." As Mei served his iced passion fruit black tea, he leaned in close across the counter and winked. "And if I went to prison again, how am I supposed to see my good, sweet little snowflake?"

Mei scrunched up her nose. "Hmph. All you ever do is bully me.”

“Ya sure ‘bout that, snowflake?” his eyes curved like crescent moons as he grinned.

"Yes, now shoo. Go back to your Roadie. I got customers to attend to."

Mei waved her hands at him as another customer arrived. Junkrat could only walk towards the door with the straw in his mouth and call out, “Roadhog! Come in ‘ere. There’s plenty of space by the windows.”

Jack Morrison watched on agitated. Angela’s gaze shifted from him and to Junkrat who was now accompanied by a tall, large man before sighing and returning back to work. “Go take a break, Mei. I’ll take over.”

“Alright, Angela!” Mei chirped before joining Junkrat and Roadhog.

 

The old commander watched the happenings in the cafe, swept his tired gaze around the cafe, before finally staring at the heliotropes sitting before him. Soft purple petals swayed with the breeze while its roots stayed firm in the potted soil.

_‘New beginnings, eh?’_

He reached out to caress a petal, the velvety sensation somehow calming on him worked up nerves. His other hand reached out to pick up the cup of unfinished green tea by the side and brought it to his lips.

_Crack._

He froze at the sound, the miniscule crevices clear beneath his fingertips. Lifting it higher to level with his eyes, he frowned at the crack lining the side of the cup, from the rim down to half the cup’s length, but the liquid stayed inside. For now.

_‘That. Is not a good sign.’_


	4. Desired and Desiderium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Junkrat's at the cafe again, Jack appeared too. Ana and Reinhardt comes for a surprise visit, and Angela's mind is in a whole lotta mess. Genji? He's just trying to stay afloat in this pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitely so late for Gency Week! 
> 
> Just some notes:  
> Meine Maus is German for 'My mouse', a small term of endearment.  
> Jungspunde (if you've seen it in Dance of Silver) just means 'youngster'  
> These might also be spelled wrong. My fav German is currently asleep. So mistakes are on me.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Day 4: Desire and Desiderium**

The last week's event with the daffodils had been successful. The limited time food and drinks were quite a hit with the customers. Upon opening the cafe, she picked up the mail in the mailbox on the way, dropped them onto the counter and begun the early setup. She worked silently and efficiently, not a single word of complaint escaping. She was happy to be able to put her back into this, to the point she hummed a small tune. The melodious sound echoed in the empty cafe and unbeknownst to her, a shadow was watching her the whole time. But he never showed himself, at least not until a little later.

Dawn had just broken when she finished putting the chairs down and a cheerful voice broke the comfortable silence.

“Good morning, Angela!”

“A very good morning to you too, Mei,” the blonde grinned and they started cooperating on getting the cafe ready. Angela entered the kitchen, preparing the ingredients that needed to be used that day as Mei checked on the machines that they would use for the drinks.

“Last week was really fun!” Mei giggled, bending over the counter on the tip of her toes. With a flick of her finger, the switch to the coffee machine was turned on. “We should hold another event like that again!”

“I agree!” Angela’s laughter drifted out from the open kitchen door.

“Have you seen the posts online?”

“No?”

That’s when Angela suddenly found herself — after finding her phone and opening the social media applications — grinning at the comments she read online.

“Homemade Swiss chocolates. Definitely not for children unless you want to put them to sleep!” A user posted a picture of chocolate drops finely presented on a porcelain plate. Each chocolate was different, some were spherical, some dome-shaped and white one was heart-shaped. By its side, fresh, cut strawberries decorated them, a chocolate drizzle lightly covering the juicy redness.

A commenter responded below the picture: “Oh my God. Did she draw the angel around the chocolates?”

Because right on the other side of the fruits, an angel in dark chocolate was drawn embracing the alcoholic sweetness.

“Yes, she did!”

Users, especially young teenagers, who found out of the event the week after were feeling utter regret. How did they not find out about this café sooner? And those flowers around the cafe! Warm lighting! Perfect Instantgram photos!

Pride swelled up within the blonde café owner. Her hard work had paid off! Those angels were not easy to draw, especially when 60% of her customers requested it and only she knew how. She scrolled down further on the social media results of the café’s social media tag, upon which she spotted the handiwork of Mei herself.

“Mei! Come look at this!” She yelled out to Mei who was busy concocting another iced drink in the kitchen. The Chinese girl popped her head out as Angela brought the phone over to her.

“Oh, I haven’t seen this!” Mei exclaimed and she read out loud, "Mei's ice cream rolls! Made on the spot! Do you feel your mouth watering now?”

In the picture was the image of cookies and cream ice cream rolls placed in a glass sundae cup held up by beautifully manicured nails, with similar flavoured Pocky sticks further adorning the creamy sweetness.

"You were at Mercy's Apothecary?! Why didn't you bring me!” A user commented with a series of angry emojis.

The two of them giggled at some comments that followed after, feeling immensely proud after such a hectic week. They took a quick breather, simply reading post after post, comment after comment, until one caught their eyes.

“I heard that their menu was designed a little after some of the fallen Overwatch team members. Do you think that’s true?"

“I remember the names Hellfire Shots and Sleep Special in the night drinks menu. Are they some?”

“Their Rum Punch was named ‘It’s High Noon’, I believe.”

“I ate some sandwiches named Grillmaster 77. And I think the Lemon Syrup Tea was called Mountain D.Va? Isn’t D.Va the Korean eSports celebrity who was in the army before joining Overwatch?”

"Do you think she was part of them?”

"She does look a lot like the blonde doctor that used to be on the field!"

Angela’s face contorted into confusion. What were the users saying? She had come up with those names on the fly. Overwatch? She didn’t know anyone from that organisation. The closest person she knew to an agent was Jack, and Genji (Jesse and Lena too), but even he wasn’t from Overwatch. At least, she didn't think so. And she definitely wasn't.

“Angela?”

The blonde woman shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. They’re just speculations. I don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Mei looked on worriedly. “Al…right. If you say so.” She turned back into the kitchen, but not without taking a second glance back. Angela’s eyebrows were furrowed into a deep confusion, teeth gnawing at her bottom lip. Her fingers clenched at the phone before she clicked it off.

Speculations? They're not speculations at all.

 _‘Why would Angela be confused? What was wrong with their comments?’_ Mei sighed inwardly before grabbing the drink she just made and coming back out.

“Here.”

Angela looked up from her thoughts. “Thank you,” she said upon receiving the iced tea.

Mei took the other seat beside Angela behind the counter.

Angela then picked up the letters and looked through them. “There’s one addressed to you.”

“That’s weird? I didn’t set the cafe’s address for anything.” Mei took the letter with a frown as she sipped on her green tea frappuccino. She flipped the letter over. "There's no sender either."

Angela hummed as she opened each letter, the majority being bills that she had to pay. At one letter, however, was an enveloped exactly identical to Mei's, down to the font used on the front. Mei originally brushed the letter away, her attention directed more at her phone, but when Angela looked over to compare their envelopes, even she couldn't help but be curious. Tacitly, they simultaneously tore their respective envelope open and picked out the paper folded within.

"Dear Angela, I am pleased to invite you and your Overwatch teammates to attend a specially organised masquerade dinner celebrating your good deeds. The event will take place on the 13th next Friday at Lumiere Hotel. We will also be graced with the appearance of a special guest joining us that evening," Angela muttered under her breath. Below the body were details of the event printed in elegant cursive text.

Feeling a presence peer at her letter, Angela looked up with a quirked eyebrow at Mei. "Oh, it is the same too!"

Huh? Same too? What did she mean by 'too'?

Seeing the inquisitive, baffled expression on Angela's face, Mei was beginning to be convinced that something was wrong with Angela, otherwise why else would she be rough with Genji?; wouldn't react upon seeing Junkrat or Roadhog except for confused silence; upon treating her like merely a colleague when they've shared late nights discussing the effects of climate and weather in relation to cybernetics; upon receiving the overly friendly smile you receive when you weren't good friends yet.

But they were. And have been for years — ever since she joined Overwatch after being thawed out.

"I received the same invitation," Mei waved her letter.

"Overwatch?" Angela tested the words on her tongue, so foreign yet why did it feel so familiar at the same time. She'd felt it before, just only a little over four months ago, when she saw his face wrapped around that scarf, the faint scars carved into his skin. It was… just like the time she did with Genji. Her face furrowed into confusion. Wait, if Mei received one too then wasn't she from Overwatch too?

"Yeah, Overwatch," Mei parroted without missing a beat before Angela could question. She contemplated whether to continue or not, to inform Angela that they've gone out into the field together way back when Overwatch still stood tall and proud, but something tugged at her not to say and to not intrude into the matters of others, yet… "Angela, were —"

"G'day, snowflake!" Junkrat slammed the cafe doors open. The maniacal grin dancing on his lips stretched wider when his eyes found their target sitting together with Angela. "How ya doin'!" He bounded over to the women as Roadhog lowered his head to enter the just-tad-too-short doors.

Mei waved Angela to remain sitting while she stood up to attend to their new regular customers. "Good morning, Jamie. What's your order today?"

Junkrat chuckled under his breath and, for the first time Mei saw him, he straightened his spine and leaned back. His hips were pushed forward, thumbs hooked in his pockets and she found herself flicking her gaze onto his remaining fingers. "You."

"Alright! I'll get that —  wait, what?" She had subconsciously jabbered on in routine when his order finally clicked in her mind. "M-Me?"

"Yes, 'flake. You." The slightly crazed man grinned while he watched her reaction, having caught her gaze. "What say you? You, me, on a date?"

Was it just her or was the cafe heating up? Junkrat watched, satisfied at the deep flush her fair cheeks were sporting. Her pink lips parted, only to have her teeth nibble at her bottom lip. The seconds felt like minutes and everything slowed down in that very moment; Angela watched with curiosity deeming proud for a feline, Junkrat puffing out his chest with the pride of a lion, and Mei, poor flabbergasted, confused Mei, simply pinched and played with her fingers. Was he playing a joke on her? If he was, it was such a sick joke! But as she lifted her eyes to glance at him, the shred of sincerity shining in his eyes caused her to flinch. Was it real? It really seemed so real. Should she accept?

‘I mean like, it wouldn’t hurt to right? Maybe? Argh! I don’t know!’ Mei felt as though animated tears streaming down her distraught face as she wished she was holed up in a corner to her thoughts.

This was just too sudden! This wasn’t the Jamie — Junkrat — that she knew! Where did that crazy, maniacal laughing, bubble tea loving pyromaniac go! She’d rather face his usual babble of explosions and threats of blowing this building, that building, or even the park if he could just because some dog peed on his leg (and no, clearly not on the fleshy leg).

As the time ticked by, Junkrat’s confident smile twitched at the corner. It shouldn’t be taking that long to decide would it? Or did she not find him attractive enough? That what? She preferred those stick thing, unreliable Asian men better (with of course, excluding that cyborg ninja Genji and archer Hanzo. Those two could give me one hell of a run if they tried, he scoffed)?

“Uh…”

His ears perked up at the soft voice, just like the little tweet of a nightingale and his eyes sparkled with anticipation. Really, just what could go wrong, right?

Everything, of course.

The door, for the second time that day, opened with the lightest of push, but it was that small creak that sounded especially deafening in the tense silence. In stepped a tall, muscular blond man whose blue eyes first beamed at spotting Angela behind the counter, before falling onto a nervous Mei and a threatening Junkrat.

“You — What are you doing to Mei?” Jack stepped towards Junkrat with a level glare. “You wouldn’t happen to be threatening a waitress, would you?”

“Fuck off, cunt. I was just asking her a question!” Junkrat returned the glare with one of his own. “Fucking ruined the moment!”

Jack ignored his cussing, turning to Mei instead. Gesturing at the angry pyromaniac with a flick of his chin, he asked, “Is that true?”

“U-Uh, yeah. He was,” Mei heaved a mental sigh of relief at seeing a familiar face walk through the door. Oh gosh, she couldn’t even begin imagining what she’d do if unacquainted customers came by!

Jack was about to continue questioning her when a gentle voice cut him off. “It’s alright, Jack. He really wasn’t threatening her.”

At Angela’s reassurance did the agent relax his guard and walk up to the second cashier, to which she stood up to man. He observed her grinning countenance, scanning for any abnormalities, but he found none. ‘ _So, the letter hasn’t arrived?_ ’ His mind floated towards the ninja that appeared moments before he entered, frowning at the memory. _'Did she see him too?'_

Angela paid no heed to his stare and continued gracing him with her smile. “Good morning. You’re not normally in this early, or this often.”

Concluding that it really hasn’t arrived and haven't seen the cyborg ninja, he returned her grin and shook his head. “I just miss you that’s all. I was wondering if you’re free later today after work as I got a day off.”

“Sure, I don’t have anything planned. What did you want to do?” she responded almost immediately.

“Just perhaps a walk in the park? Thought we could both do with a nice change in pace,” he suggested.

“Sounds good to me.”

Junkrat seethed at the side, scowling darkly at the scene and faced Mei again. She half feared that he was going to ask her out again and forced herself to keep smiling. If he asked, she’d reply! If not, then… well. She wasn’t sure?

“Just give me the breakfast set. Roadie will have the same but with more sausages.” Instead, he grumbled under his breath while glaring at the till.

Somehow, just somehow, Mei was disappointed. Was she only worth that much to him? Was it really a joke after all? She carefully took his payment and gave him his order number before quickly entering the kitchen to prepare the meal. Simple dishes like this, she could do, but anything that required more skills, they were normally sent to the kitchen staff on hand or Angela to complete. However just for this meal, just this one, even if she’d deny it in front of others, she wanted to at least make that crazy man his breakfast. Juicy, ripened tomatoes were sliced in half before being lightly seasoned with salt and pepper with a drizzle of olive oil before being baked in the oven. On the frying pan was a couple of thick striped bacon and sausages sizzling away that she flipped over before checking on the simmering pot of water. With a dash of vinegar, she then stirred to create a whirlpool before carefully cracking a fresh large egg into it. She watched in anticipation as the egg whites swirled and danced around the yolk, like a butterfly’s wings cocooning itself.

It didn’t take long to finish the meal. The tomatoes came out first and then poached eggs, and she neatly plated them on a warm porcelain plate. A garden salad was placed on the side with a lemon balsamic tang before the bacon and sausages was put on. She repeated the same on another plate but with added sausages. Once content with everything, she brought out the plates, one in each hand and sauntered towards the table. This time, confidence was oozing out of her every pore and it showed, as Junkrat’s attention was suddenly shifted towards her as he caught her from the corner of his eye. His eyes were locked onto the delicious upward tug of her lips before blinking at the glint in her eyes so bright behind the glasses. He visibly gulped the lump in his throat when he watched her curves dance towards him with mouth-watering meals in her possession.

“Here you go. A breakfast special made especially for you.” The plates lightly thudded on the wooden table and Junkrat was stunned at the smile that she gave him.

He gulped again, somehow noticing that the distance between them was rather short. He could feel the heat that radiated off her body and even when she pulled her hands back to her side, they were made deliberately slow and elegant as she turned to fully face him. “So,” she whispered breathily. Goosebumps tickled his skin when her cold fingertips graced his warm ones gripping the armrest. “Is the date still on?”

“W-Wha?” Incoherent words tumbled off his tongue. What was his Snowflake saying?

Mei grinned cheekily at his response and the confidence building within allowed her to lean forward just by a few inches, enough so that the words rolling off her lips would tickle his ear. “The date. The date you wanted to take me on. When will you take me out?”

The warm breath, so unlike her cold fingertips, caressed his ear and he shivered at the intensity of it all. The words repeated in his mind over and over again, before his mind finally processed it and he felt his lips tug at the corner. His shock vanished like a drop of water in the desert and he returned her gesture, sheer satisfaction blooming at the pinkness that slowly crept upon her cheeks. Leaning on his arm, he closed into her face, the smug smirk playing off his lips. “Oh, babe. We can have a date tonight if you want. Or even right here, right now.” Then, with his free hand, Junkrat lightly traced his thumb over her parted lips with a quick, fluid motion. “Of course, if you rather not, my flames are hot as fuck like the Australian sun and it’ll definitely keep you warm at night.

It was like the kettle going off when the last of his breathy words kissed her lips. Mei’s face flushed entirely red where it rivalled the juiciest ripened red apples, feeling extremely hot to the point she believed steam was about to rise. Just what, why, how, what?

With his smirk widening, Junkrat leaned back and winked. “I’ll see you tonight then, Snowflake.”

With a blink of her eyes, Mei managed to compose herself before smiling sweetly at him. “Okay!”

When Mei walked away, cheeks still a little red and a little flustered, but her steps had a bounce to them. Angela grinned upon seeing that and couldn’t help her eyes wandering over to Jack who was seated by the window, eating his sandwich and reading the news. She too, was pretty eager for tonight.

“Oh, good morning Ana!” Mei chirped when an elderly lady appeared by the door. Her skin was tanned and white hair braided neatly, but unlike normal women, one of her eyes were hidden behind an eyepatch.

“Good morning. I brought the new batch of flowers for this week,” Ana smiled as she held up the pots of morning glory. The royal purples were a beautiful contrast from their dark leaves and a fresh scent immediately wafted around the cafe. “I have the rest in my car.”

Angela beamed at the morning glory. They were absolutely beautiful! And they seemed to have just bloomed as well. Gratefully taking the heavy pot from Ana’s hands, she proceeded to set it down near the door, close enough to be by the entrance but not enough to get destroyed when the door opened (courtesy of a particular fellow).

While Ana turned around to get the other pots, a burly man standing at easily over 2 metres was blocking the doorway. In his thick arms were two large pots of morning glory, the trellises covered with buds in full bloom. “Ana, meine Maus. You left your car door open.”

Ana grinned lopsidedly at the man. Steps filled with elegance and a deathly vibe, she walked up towards the man and lifted her hand to gently caress his cheek on her tiptoes. The short hairs of his beard tickled her calloused palm. “Why wouldn’t I, my love? I could easily spot you from a mile away.”

Reinhardt, the big old burly man chuckled lovingly at the smaller woman before him. Her head was lowered as she lifted her one eye to blink innocently up at him. “And besides, you wouldn’t let anyone steal a defenceless old woman’s car, would you?”

Her whisper was only audible for him to hear and he couldn’t help guffawing at the bashful, defenceless look she was putting on. Her? Defenceless? Hah! She could easily send someone to meet their father in Heaven if she wanted to!

“And besides, who would steal the car when someone like you was already stealing flower pots out of it?”

His laughter bellowed louder in the cafe. Nimbly, he pecked her on the forehead, the adoration so clear in his gaze. “Oh, meine Maus. I’m just helping you carry these heavy things.” He knew full well that she could easily handle these pots herself too with all the years having been in the field with her sniper rifle, and gods, that gun was not light to begin with. “I even finished training the Jungspunde as fast as I could, just so I could see you.”

Ana smiled and stepped aside to allow Reinhardt entry, mouthing him a silent ‘thank you’ before turning to Angela. “Tell him where you’d like them.”

She warmed at the scene before her, feeling rather wistful from it all. When would she be able to experience something like that? A simple, comfortable relationship with nothing else that was more important. A sigh slipped from her lips before she stepped forward to instruct Reinhardt on the positioning of the plants. A few customers arrived when the cafe was being transformed into a mini garden once more whom Mei attended to as Angela handled the decorations. It was bittersweet, watching the old couple. Sweet, simple ministrations of small pecks, rubbing of her cheek on his bicep, and unburdened laughter that was so addictive that the others couldn’t help but join in too.

“Thank you.”

Ana and Reinhardt looked up from their seats to smile at Angela who brought a plate of food and a tray of refreshments. Setting the sandwiches down with the drinks, she thanked the couple once more.

“It’s our pleasure, Angie. You’re doing really well with the cafe.” Ana commented, her words tinged with pride.

“It’s a team effort,” Angela responded bashfully. And that was true. Without Jack’s assistance in forming the cafe, she would have then never built the cafe up to the standard that she wanted; He was the one who found Ana the florist, and not long after she posted job positions, Mei came (with a few other staff of course, but the Chinese woman was the most memorable one out of the lot) with her refreshing iced drinks. When she faced the couple again, there was something that nagged at her mind, itching at her to ask: “How do you make it work?” She knew Reinhardt was somewhere in the military; the guy had to be with that kind of body!

“You mean relationships?” Ana asked back and she nodded. When the old woman turned to look at Reinhardt, she caught his silent, endearing gaze as he nibbled on his sandwich and her lungs burst out into giggles. “They’re work, Angie. Definitely not 50/50. Some days when I get up, I feel like only giving 10% of my effort and my love here will have to step up to give 90% that day.”

“But there’s 100% love,” Reinhardt finished for her as he handed her the cup to drink. “It’s really hard to put it into words because it can’t really be measured. Sometimes you just gotta feel for it.”

“But how would you know who?”

“Someone who feels like home,” Ana grinned, taking Reinhardt’s hand into hers. “It’s not about the excitement or the things you share in common. Sometimes, it’s really just someone that makes you feel comfortable, someone that you can go home to and relax without a worry.”

“Without a worry, huh…”

“How come, Angie? Is there someone on your mind?” Ana questioned, leaning back as she daintily picked up her cup and sipped her tea. She truly did wonder, just who might have Angela ended up with? She watched the pondering woman closely, feeling slightly odd at the sight. The blonde cafe owner before her was nothing like the doctor she knew back in Overwatch, like something… had changed. It wasn’t such a major, drastic change no. Just something subtle, something you wouldn’t have been able to grasp if you weren’t attentive enough.

Angela hummed as she hugged the tray closer to her chest. At first, her eyes darted towards Jack, her questioning gaze staring at his back. Would he be the one? Sure, they’ve shared laughter and smiles before, but that’s _all_ there was. It was like there was never a rainy day between them and honestly, that was nice. She felt happy with him and rather free, yet simultaneously, there were times where she had to _constantly_ put that smile on — even if she didn’t want to. Putting away her fatigue, her stress for the day, just so she could smile for him… was that really what she wanted? Yes, she was smiling. Yes, they laughed together. And he'd helped her with a new beginning. But it was just so tiring…

Ana caught onto the direction of her gaze, and so did Reinhardt. They both shared a glance, untold conversations silently weaving through the air.

"I haven't seen Genji in awhile. How is he doing?"

Angela was snapped out of her reverie at the man's question. Genji… huh. "I haven't seen him in awhile. I guess he must be busy."

Reinhardt let out a sound of acknowledgment. "I suppose he is. But shouldn't you check up on him? To make sure he's working fine?"

She was startled. "Huh? What do you mean?"

This time it was Reinhardt who was surprised. "Am I wrong? Don't you regularly perform checks on him? To make sure the cybernetic parts of his body are operating at optimum levels, or something?" He paused, holding her gaze with his quirked eyebrow. "Am… I not right? These things are just too confusing!"

"I - I…"

At a loss for words, the cafe owner flinched back a small step. Everything in her was a mess lately. She hadn't believed Genji the first time he told her she was a doctor, that she was in Overwatch, but then the letter came. Inviting her. And then, now this.

Was this why they all gave her weird expressions when they first met? When Mei came for an interview and she appeared all cheerful, only to be shocked and confused, before the same smile was brought back, although albeit forced. Angela honestly always thought that the icy woman was just someone who wore her heart on her sleeve while still being capable of maintaining a professional attitude; the ability to create the iced drinks were just icing on the cake. And when Angela first met Ana, the older woman had instantly treated her with warmth, giving off the vibe of a loving grandmother who desperately wanted to give hugs and cookies. Yet, when Angela kept that professional distance and introduced herself, Ana, similarly like Mei, had given her an expression full of confusion.

As though they were supposed to adjust be acquainted.

But she… couldn't remember.

Remember.

It's always her memory. Something was definitely missing. Something related to Overwatch. Something she should have known but couldn't. Something… argh! What was it? If only she could —

The door to the cafe opened and the first wave of breakfast customers came rushing in to get their daily coffee and food. Dropping the topic right there, Angela quickly returned to her position with an apology and helped Mei attend to the customers.

"Something's not right… with Angie."

"I agree, meine Maus. It's like she can't remember us."

"But it's only been a little under five years since the disbandment of Overwatch."

The couple had only gotten in touch with Angela from time to time before she opened the cafe. That was simply life. You'd get busy and things start to pile up. You'd focus on one task before moving onto the next, or even, you'd just sit and laze there, waiting for the time to pass for the exact reason that things were starting to pile up, like _pile_ up.

"I don't know, my love. It's not as simple as that…" And pursed her lips while her motherly sixth sense was tingling. Something. Was terribly wrong.

Angela busied herself with the customers, plastering on the usual smile as the wave kept coming for breakfast or early lunches. She'd pass Jack occasionally with a plate of food or with a tray of drinks, and though she wished she could forget about what the old couple has mentioned, her mind constantly strayed away. Would he be the one? Was he the one I feel like home? She glanced at Jack as she walked towards the table behind him before quickly lowering her lashes. The image of his smiling side profile flitted into her mind, chin in palm and a warm mug in the other. He watched the people by the sidewalk pass by the cafe while the sun peeked out from behind the clouds. A lovely day indeed.

After serving the drinks, she too, looked out the window. _'It's been sunny for awhile,'_ she noted mentally. _'I wonder when will it rain?_ '

Her footsteps immediately paused and her nose wrinkled.

If every day was a sunny day, who would not wish for rain?

His words, crisp and clear, rang in her mind. It was already muddled with thoughts, a total mess of a mindscape like messy clothes strewn carelessly around the room, but his words remained bolded and strong. Her lips subconsciously twitched upward.

True. We all need a rainy day once in awhile.

And when the day had come and gone, the sun finishing its cycle to allow space the moon to bask in its glory, Angela stood outside her cafe with her face towards the fiery sky. Hues of orange and yellow painted the clouds a passionate colour, with a visible of violet and pink. She released a deep sigh, letting it all out and the gentle breeze blew, caressing her cheek and danced with her hair. It's been 17 weeks since she opened the cafe, 17 weeks since her new beginning, and two weeks since she saw him. Was he doing well? Was he eating well? Did those scars hurt?

"Have fun!" Mei called out from inside the cafe. Junkrat was waiting on her inside, fingers drumming impatiently on the armrest as he balanced the car on its two back legs.

"Thanks for closing up!" Angela smiled. There was still 30 minutes to closing, but Mei had offered to close up, giving the owner the short break from the Monday Mayhem. They hadn't expected it to be so busy, but after the first wave came, they never stopped.

Jack waved bye to Mei after a warning glance at Junkrat to come stand beside Angela. "You cold?" He asked when he saw her crossed arms.

Smiling sweetly, she shook her head. "Not really. I'm fine."

Although he acknowledged her words, he still removed his coat and gingerly wrapped it around her shoulders. An indescribable feeling washed over her, the emotions bubbling up to her throat. He was sweet, such a gentleman, and he was strong and loyal. But why did she feel like there was something that she could never cross? Something held her back, an invisible threshold her heart refused to jump across.

"Come, let's go to the park nearby."

However, just as he uttered those words, the darkening sky lost its passionate hue as dark clouds immediately converged above the city. Lightning flashed before their eyes as the winds picked up speed, with barely three seconds later as the thunder clapped, the sound rumbling and shocking her nerves.

Instantly, like a tear in the sky, it started pouring. Angela stood beneath the eaves of her cafe, watching the grey faded curtain of the rain fall before her. The chill pervaded her senses, yet the feeling was refreshing, a nice calm in the chaos of her heart.

"Shit. I'll go borrow an umbrella." Jack turned back into the cafe.

Angela hummed nonchalantly, her attention still on the pitter-pattering of rain. Her fingers, still on her cross arms, twitched, as though something was missing — something that had normally done before. A sad smile flitted onto her lips the more she thought about it. The empty slate of memories that she had before her awakening in the hospital, that wide gap, was beginning to get on her nerves. The doctors said that with time, her memories should resurface. Nothing was wrong with her that was extremely detrimental, everything was functioning alright. At least, that's what the doctors said.

Were they right?

She began to seethe at the doubt that arose. What was the truth? What was the lie?

"Ahh, there aren't any umbrellas in the cafe," Jack groaned as he returned to her side. "Why isn't there one? Sigh… what would you like to do?" He felt dejected at the weather, inwardly cursing the bad timing to have it rain. After so long of finally getting a day off just to spend it with her, it rained. It. Just. Had. To. Rain. Fuck.

Angela didn't even spare him a glance, too lost in her thoughts when she suddenly cried out in pain at the sharp stab to her brain. It pulsed and burned, like a knife was carving in her skull. A faint, blurry memory was resurfacing, the scene dark, but she felt a sense of comfort. A phantom warmth crept on her cheek, like a gentle caress of the wind, but the calloused touch brought shivers down her spine. She closed her eyes and relished in the memory, as blurry as it may be.

Murmured whispers began to echo.

_“Oh, it’s raining.”_

_“Mmm, it would seem like it is.”_

_“If I recall, it was raining when I found you too.”_

_“Yeah, it was raining just like this at that time.”_

_“I’m glad that I did though.”_

_“Huh?”_

_“It allowed me to meet you.”_

The close intimacy of those words brought upon a wave of desire and anguish in her heart. The man’s voice was familiar, too familiar in fact and the same instinctual feeling she felt weeks ago — _buried long ago_ — resurfaced.

She tried to calm her breathing, the pain now throbbing a dull ache. By her side, Jack was worried and anxious, but his words fell on deaf ears. She couldn’t hear a word he uttered, nor could she hear Mei’s.

_“Then I propose we have a date in the rain.”_

_“In the rain? Then I’ll just have to bring an umbrella.” The her in the memories giggled,_ giggled _, at the prospect of walking in the rain._

There came the phantom caress once again, causing her heart to burn with renewed fervor.

_“Two lovers in the rain have no need for an umbrella.”_

His name, barely audible in the rain, was murmured under her breath, a soft kiss of desiderium that warmed and at the same time, anguished her within.

The large hands that held onto her arm and patted her back brought her out of her senses, and cruelly back to reality. She snapped her head towards a worried Jack and she stared into his eyes so blue that mirrored her countenance. Did he know?

 _'Did Jack know anything of me in Overwatch?'_ She thought. _'If he did, why wouldn't he tell me?'_

An uneasy feeling rose up his throat at the blank, level stare that she gave him. Did she recover her memories?

The doctors said that with time, her memories should resurface, but it was Jack that told her, "It's alright if you don't remember. Each day is a new beginning."

What were his intentions then? She believed him like a baby depended on its mother when it first opened its eyes. He was there by her bed when she woke up, there when she felt lost at everything, there when every new thing popped up. But now —

Just how much shit could she have avoided if she knew his intentions from the start?

"Angie…?" He tested the waters warily, a sense of danger sparking off in his mind. An angry woman was after all, more dangerous than any sniper bullet.

The unreadable expression on her beautiful countenance disappeared with the blink of an eye as the same smile he was used to appeared. "Oh, I'm sorry. I blanked out."

He heaved a mental sigh of relief. Outwardly, he returned her smile. "You were in pain just now. Did your head hurt?"

"Yeah, but it's fine now."

And now, for the actual worry. "Did you recover your memories?"

Angela closed her eyes as she shook her head, using that moment of darkness to hide the sharp glint in her gaze. Memories? Yeah, she recovered just the slightest bit of them, but it doesn't look like he wanted her to. However, she easily lied through her smile, "No. I didn't. I think I'm just cold. I want to go home. Sorry about this."

Jack patted her head and she forcefully repressed the urge to flinch. "You don't have to apologise." _I do._ "I'll send you home."

She wanted to refuse him, to go alone and sit with her thoughts, but seeing the eagerness in his eyes made it sizzle away. "Sure."

And as they ran across the streets, jacket or hands covering their heads, a lone shadow appeared by the cafe door. In his hand was a brown paper bag. For the first time in two weeks, he wasn't in his cyborg suit. He didn't shiver at the cold, feeling a hollow space in his heart. For two weeks, he held back in seeing her. For two weeks, he worked hard to finish the thing in the bag. For two weeks… he tried to swim against the raging waves of his mind, that she didn't intentionally forget who he was, that she didn't intend to leave him, to hurt him like this.

Yet, when I tumbled and turned in my thoughts, I always came to the same conclusion: It's sad when the person that gave me the best memories, becomes a memory.

"Genji! You're here." Mei greeted me despite Junkrat's scowls and grumbles. "Do you want something to drink?"

I shook my head, looking around the cafe for any signs of Angela. Water dripped from my hair, wet clothes clinging to my body and the scent of morning glory entered my senses. Affection, I vaguely remembered its meaning. . Mei caught onto my gaze and asked, "Are you looking for Angela? She just left with Jack before you arrived."

I gave her a bitter smile. Jack. Jack Morrison again. He stopped me from entering this morning when I gathered enough courage to see her as the cafe opened, and when I heard his words, I swallowed the acid in my throat and resolutely walked away. The dragon in my blood stirred, the unaccepting fury bubbling.

_"What are you doing here, Genji?"_

_"Commander," I had curtly replied with the same brown bag in hand. Tugging my scarf higher, I continued. "I'm here to see Angela."_

_Jack shook his head, arms crossed on his chest as he leaned his weight on a foot. "You're just going to hurt her when she sees you."_

_"Why?" I narrowed my eyes, the dark irises flashing a dangerous red and Jack tensed his muscles in retaliation._

_Instead of replying, Jack shook his head and shifted the topic. "You know. It was amazing how you two have been friends for so long. She talked about you all the time."_

_My ears perked up. "She did?"_

_"Yeah, I have to say, I have no idea how you didn't fall in love with her yet." My heart ached at the bitter memory of months ago. "Lucky for me though."_

And I swore, I was about to pummel him for the smug grin he graced me with. Had he thought I hadn't felt that? That they were together? That I had missed out on my only chance just because of a damn mission?

" _Did you have to fucking tell me that?" I growled at him. "Then go, go to her."_

And I had then turned around, my back to the cafe, to her, and walked away, and it was with that, that I missed Jack's agonised expression, muttering incoherent words under his breath.

"I wish I could. She hasn't even agreed to date me."

 

Turning my attention back to Mei, I ignored Junkrat by the side and handed her the bag. "Could I leave this bag here with you?"

"What's in it?"

My face twitched into a smile. "Nothing much."

Mei narrowed her eyes in jest. "Really? It's not something I need to be afraid of, right?"

I shook my head but Junkrat had been faster, grabbing the paper bag from my grip before she could lay a finger on it. "No! If it's fucking dangerous, cunt. You're not leaving it here with her."

I rolled my eyes at the pyromaniac. "It's a lot less dangerous than you."

"Damn right it should be!" He proudly exclaimed.

Mei laughed at his antics, taking the bag away from him. "I'll keep this safe. How have you been?"

I could sense the hidden worry in her tone and I chuckled sadly. "As good as I can be. Jesse and Lena are helping me through this ordeal."

Mei hummed in agreement. "That's good. Angela is a little different though."

I scoffed lightly. "Of course. She's lost her memories. Doesn't remember a single thing."

Mei gasped. "Seriously? Aiya, no wonder she found it weird when she got the letter. Did you get it too?"

I raised an eyebrow. "That dinner invitation?" At her nod, I replied, "Yeah. I did."

"Hey, hey. What letter! Why am I not invited to something Snowflake is invited to?" Junkrat grumbled with a scowl.

Mei rolled her eyes. "Cause you're not part of Overwatch."

Junkrat narrowed his eyes at her. "You aren't anymore too!"

I turned my head away from their public display of affection and bid them farewell. Stepping outside the cafe, I watched the heavy rain fall from the clouds. It was raining just like that night many years ago, and just like that one memory I've shared with her.

If I could, I'd take her out on a date on the rain. Her hand in mine as we walk amidst the rainy curtains. Grace her with a rose and surprise her with a box of Swiss chocolates. She'd hum a tune, that's for sure, and we'd dance to it. Freely, like birds uncaged. Not a care in the world as it's just us. Just us two, living in the rain.

Closing my eyes, I allowed the rain to fall on my face in the night. No, no tears in the rain. A cleansing of my broken heart. To allow the pain to slowly wash away with the rain, leaving me nothing but an empty hollowness in my chest. It hurt. Hurt too much.

Yet, I also knew, knew that the pain will never really go away. No one would really ever forget the pain of losing someone once loved. I'd pretend to move on and act like it didn't happen before everyone else, just because it's what to be expected.

Rubbing at my cheeks, I gulped the heavy lump lodged in my throat and fought the burning sensations in my eyes.

_'If I did anything right in my life, it was when I gave my heart to you.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Desiderium also means "an ardent desire or longing especially: a feeling of loss or grief for something lost."


	5. The Dinner, part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genji and Angela are now contemplating on their lives. The dinner night was fast approaching and when it came, trouble ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter for Day 5 will be split into two parts. Just because it got slightly too long. I'm still working on the second part but here's the first for you. :D  
> Enjoy!

**Day 5: The Dinner, part 1**

That night felt particularly cold, colder than the nights I’ve suffered through before. Was it because I found out about Angela and Jack? With a light leap, I gripped onto a window ledge and hauled myself up. Swiftly and silently, I scaled up the wall using the windows whilst avoiding those whose lights were on. Upon reaching my room, I tapped against the glass at its corner, causing it to slightly dislodge. Then carefully and slowly, I removed it and set it back once I slithered back into my room. The presence of the four walls relaxed my nerves and I draped the removed scarf across my chair. On the table before it was a few things lying around: a couple pieces of transparent film paper, a roll of white glue stick, a pair of scissors and a capped pen. Small traces of cut dried stems scattered around the stationery. I stared at it, feeling forlorn at the sight.

Would she like it, I wonder? Or would she throw it away? Now that she’s got Jack.

_And forgotten about you. Thrown aside like a dirty rag._

I ignored the voice in my head and sat onto my bed with a sigh. I dropped my forehead onto clasped fingers, the digits clawing and squeezing harder with every second. Did I truly wanted to let go of her? I lifted my head and rested my chin upon my thumbs. Agony crossed my features at the mere thought of cutting all contact with her. But if I were to really let her go, that would probably have to be my first course of action. I’d have to remove all means to contact her, remove all the pictures we took (even if they were only a rare one or two), but how could I remove the memories that we shared? I pass by her newly occupied office – who’s sorely not Angela – everyday. Every wall I passed, I can see her smile and wave as she greeted me good morning, with the coffee and papers in hand. Every month I’d go for my check-ups, just so she could perform the tests and ensure none of my cybernetics parts were malfunctioning. Which did beg the question, _was_ I really functioning well?

I flexed my arms, feeling the slight drag in my robotic one compared to the one of flesh, and I frowned. Standing up, I stretched and sensed each part of my body, noticing even more of an action lag in my movements.

“Ha!” I tested a straight punch. The movement felt weird, definitely slower than before even though the power was there. Relaxing my stance, I stared at my metal fingers, clenching and unclenching them. The joints felt stiff and hard, and yet another sigh escaped my lips as I dropped to lay supine upon my bed.

 _‘I guess I’m really not functioning at a 100%.’_ I thought bitterly.

It sucked, really, but there was nothing I could do. No one else was better than her in the field, and I haven’t been able to contact Winston either. I’d ask Lena, but I’m sure she hasn’t been able to too. Just where had that scientist of a monkey go to?

 _‘And I wish I could ask Angela, but she’d probably scold me and rebut my words.’_ I bitterly smiled.

Turning onto my side, I stared into space, forgetting the fact that I hadn’t had dinner or anything to drink in the past few hours. I didn’t know what to think. The blank state of my mind was oddly soothing; Nothing to think about, nothing to worry about.

Maybe I could just let this be. Allow my functions to just slowly deteriorate and go somewhere – maybe find Zen again – and just retire there. Surrounded by peace and tranquillity. That did sound good.

As I turned onto my other side, I caught a glimpse of the opened letter on my bedside table.

_‘I wonder if the whole team is going for it.’_

The night came and went, and I woke up to the sunlight streaming onto my face. Groaning, I laid on my back and covered my eyes with my arm. There weren’t any missions for me to go on – at least not yet – and I hadn’t planned on doing anything else for the day. For the past four months, when I weren’t on a mission, I was working away at a surprise for Angela, but now knowing that she was with Jack, it somehow didn’t feel right giving it to her, yet at the same time, I didn’t want to keep it.

I peeked an eye open, staring at the wall before me with my arm still cover my face. I felt lost, confused.

_‘What do I do now?’_

Such an odd feeling, having accomplished something but not knowing what to do next. I slaved away to complete the gift, thinking that even if she forgot, we could always make new ones. Memories were memories, they were in the past, and the person I could spend time with in the present was a hell of a lot more important.

_Then why didn’t you visit her in the past few weeks?_

_Because... because I..._

“Ugh,” I slowly rolled to sit up while pressing on my temple. Yeah, I didn’t go and visit her. But I always went to see her.

Every day, not a time passed where I wondered how she was. Every day, I allowed my heart to feel the pain of seeing her smile but it’s not for me, and I let it break in the few times Jack came to see her. Why didn’t I fight? Why did I walk away?

I laughed sadly at myself, feeling my eyes suddenly well up. My body shuddered and I pulled my limbs close as I curled up as small as I possibly could. I fisted the blanket, tugging it higher to cover my face, as if no one could see me when I did that. I failed to hear the pitter-patter of the rain outside.

Seriously, I’m such an idiot. I should have stepped forward instead of running away. Should have given myself a chance. But why? Why did I walk away?

_Because... if I truly love her, I can let her go._

“Yo, Genji. Are you in there?” A deep voice came muffled from my door.

Groaning, I glared at the door. “Go away, Jesse. I want to sleep.”

“Nope, commander is calling for us. We got to go.”

Cursing under my breath, I sluggishly stood up and went to my cybernetic suit, or at least the rest of it. “I’m coming.”

 

~*~*~

 

Her head pounded terribly like someone was repeatedly, unmusically smashing hard on her skull like a drum.

 _‘It feels like I drank 5 bottles of straight vodka on an empty stomach...’_ Angela groaned while she pushed herself onto her elbows.

The alarm on her phone went off, constantly beeping like the useful annoyance it was. Roughly dismissing it, she begrudgingly slid her legs off the bed. Her toes touched the cold hard flooring, feeling the chill wafting against the floorboards from the rainy night. With a shiver, she got to her feet and hurriedly got herself ready. Another new day. Another day her cafe was open.

After returning home last night, she had crashed straight onto her bed, allowing the night to swallow her whole. Having slept in the clothes she wore out yesterday, they still retained the odour of food. It was a little strong and a little smelly. She grimaced at the oil stains on her sleeves, the faint traces of a myriad of sauces on her skirt. This was probably the part of the job she didn’t fancy as much, and now that she had slept on her bed with this... Looked like she had another chore to do today.

Time at the cafe was business as usual. Nothing really out of the ordinary, well, except for that –

“Whose bag is that, Mei?” Angela inquired when she finally spotted an unknown object hidden away underneath the counter and far behind the tools they kept.

“Huh?” Mei looked up from the cashier after the customer left. Upon seeing the brown paper bag, she turned her eyes up as she tried to remember. “Oh, that’s right. Genji dropped by yesterday after you left. He asked if he could leave the bag here and I said yes.” She watched Angela’s reaction closely. Would she be upset? Would she be sad?

Yet, all the blonde said was: “Oh.”

Mei: ...

Angela left the bag back where it was without even opening it. She didn’t ask anything or said anything else. Instead, she went back to work as though nothing had happened. Mei scrunched up her eyebrows. Just what was...

“Good afternoon! Could I please get a Matcha Frappuccino, please?” A customer’s sudden arrival surprised Mei out of her thoughts.

With the toothy smile and clear voice, she replied, “Yes, sure! It won't take long.” And off she went to work her magic.

This was how the days passed, sometimes with the occasional appearance of Junkrat or Jack in the cafe, even Jesse and Lena would visit, but that one man (yes, she considered him a man) never appeared. She saw neither hair nor hide of the man. When she asked Jesse or Lena about him, they’d vaguely answer her and avoid the sensitive topic. Did he not want to see her? Disappointment coursed through her veins, stacking each day to the point she thought he hated her, because what man would stay with the woman he liked who defended another man before him? Even the revelation left a bitter taste on her tongue once she realised how unreasonable she might have been. She could have taken it slow, gently getting in between them and breaking up the fight.

 _‘Why were they fighting though?’_ She wondered more than once. She never asked at that point of time and now might be a tad too late as well.

If only she had spoken softly that day, then maybe she wouldn’t have chased him away. This past week, she found herself hoping more and more that the man would visit and order the regular green tea like he normally –

And the second revelation hit her hard. Oh, Gods, she was an idiot. An inconsiderate, insensitive. Idiot.

What else were there? What else?

Her heart couldn’t take this anymore. How much more did she hurt the guy? It wasn’t even a gradual hurt, a gradual sinking of pain and aches, but a downright slap in the face. Twice.

_“Of course you’d be protective over your knight in shining armor. Isn’t he just the greatest?"_

_“The perfect American poster boy. Perfect for you.”_

She squeezed her eyes shut when she entered the kitchen, dropping the tray onto the metal countertop. Genji’s words resounded loud and clear in her mind, and she could feel the sting in his words, the hidden agony lacing the tone. The words echoed mercilessly, slowly building up until the sheer ache gripped at the throat, choking her. Forcing her breaths to steady, she tried to focus on the food in her hands but her breathing became shallow and her head began to terribly hurt.

_"I mean like, in the field of prosthesis, people are working to understand, create and improve artificial limbs to main normal body functions even after the loss of limbs. I even saw that a child using her new robotic arm for the first time and it worked perfect! Isn't that amazing? The nerves must have…"_

_"Science and technology have come so far! I'm sure that ordinary people can afford this in the future too!"_

She took a sharp inhale at the sudden rush of memory invading her brain. Unlike the one before, this one was clear, vivid as though she was watching an episode.

She watched how the Angela in the memory continued babbling on and on about a scientific topic that she couldn’t fathom, and how Genji silently listened and paid attention. He continued eating as he did, but when she saw him quietly nudge her hand so that she’d eat, something got lodged in her throat.

“Angela?” One of her kitchen staff called out warily.

Shaking her head, Angela quickly left the kitchen through the back door and closed it behind her. She slid down with her back against it shakily until she dropped onto the ground. Covering her eyes with her palms, the memory went on as a patch of wetness covered her sleeves.

This time she watched as the past Angela locked the door and gently set a sleeping Genji on her lap. Her fingers combed through his hair and she could feel the phantom senses in reality. They were smooth and soft, and it brought a sense of comfort to run her fingers through his hair. Sometimes she’d massage his scalp, but she didn’t miss each look of endearment the past Angela would give the young man.

The immense love past Angela had for Genji began to well up inside, bubbling in the deepest parts of her heart. The emotion coursed through her veins, warming her body and chasing the chill of the pattering drizzle outside the cafe away.

But it didn’t end there.

The older memories, of those in the battlefield, of those in the labs, started rushing in. They were all only memories with Genji, of the times she smiled at him and wished him well on missions, of those times she’d heal him during said missions, or when he’d protect her as she healed the team, but it was the times he’d sit through her babble and drink her coffee – laced with alcohol oh gosh – that really got her. Never once in those memories did he complain. He always paid attention and loved her the way she was, goofy nerd and all.

“Angela? Angela! Where are you?” Mei’s worried voice drifted over from behind and she heard footsteps near the door. Mei knocked before trying to open the door, only to find it locked. “Are you out there? It’s raining!”

Angela shot to her feet in a panic as she hastily wiped the tears away. “I'm alright! Just needed some air!”

Mei was sceptical, having heard the sob and sniffle in the blonde’s voice. “Alright. Just take your time. I got this.”

“I'll be out soon.” Angela waited until Mei walked away before setting her head against the door. The eaves overhead blocked out the rain, so she wasn’t entirely drenched, but as she rubbed her arms to warm herself up, she couldn’t help reminiscing about the memories that flooded her mind.

 _‘I was that in love with him?’_ Angela looked up into the rain. _‘Then why weren’t we together?’_

Patting her cheeks, she breathed in the cold, rainy air and wiped the tear stains away. With one last look at the rain, she turned around and unlocked the door. It was weird. Extremely weird. But she didn’t so lonely after that, especially since the rain didn’t let up the whole day.

She liked to think that he was there, in the rain, with her. Because after all, two lovers in the rain didn’t need an umbrella.

And so, the days then came and went. Angela didn’t treat Jack any different, except that now she kept a distance from him. Not because she regained feelings for Genji no, but she couldn’t bring herself to trust him anymore. From the memories she managed to recover, she could tell that she _was_ an agent before, better known as Mercy on the field too.

 _‘Where are my staff and blaster?’_ Angela eyed Jack from the corner of her eyes. Once doubt was seeded within you, it will spread like venom and it was futile to remove it. It can be minimised, yes, but there was no way, the person would fully trust in you again. After all, once bitten, twice shy.

When Friday the 13th came, Angela was already panicking and clucking like a frightened hen. The cafe was closed for a long break that day and was due to open again next Monday. A discomfort was stuck in her chest as she played and scrunched the ends of the dress she wore. It was simple, unadorned dark golden slip on silk dress that billowed by her feet. Her hair, washed and dried, was left hanging loosely, yet she couldn’t help but think that it would look better styled into an updo. Flattening out the dress by her thighs, she inhaled deeply, till the air filled her lungs fully and tried to calm down.

_‘There’s no reason why they’d hate me right? I mean, I'm still ‘Angela’ even if I don’t really remember them?’_

No, she hadn’t told Jack that she had planned on going to Lumiere Hotel. Nor did he ask anyway.

But she wanted to go. Go and confirm her identity, to find out who exactly was Overwatch, and she didn’t want to simply rely on the information she gathered over the internet. She read the news that surrounded Overwatch, the battles they fought and the deeds they’ve done. Although there was a lot of good, there was also some bad, and it felt surreal to see the names she was familiar with. Ana Amari, one of the founding fathers of Overwatch and an expert sniper, but was currently a harmless florist? Reinhardt, a former crusader and now a general in the army training soldiers. Mei, at least Mei remained someone remotely similar: A climatologist and adventurer through and through. She read of Jack, Commander Jack Morrison leading the team against evil and fighting to maintain peace – the same Jack that hid the truth from her? She even saw another similar name, Genji. He looked different in the pictures, fully cladded in metal with a green visor, his hand holding a sharp and slightly curved katana. Could that possibly be the same Genji she knew? Scarred and all?

And when she got to the parts with Mercy, Doctor Angela Ziegler, a nano-biologist and a field medic in Overwatch, she felt... weird to say the least. Even though it felt like she was reading about someone else, she somehow knew that this was her. The same Angela Ziegler who was also a quaint little cafe owner.

She dropped her arms to the side, taking a good luck at the final product of her creation. Her soft blonde hair was braided, twisted and pinned into a messy bun. Loose strands framed her face that was painted with a tint of pink on her lips and some shadows on her eyelids. Black mascara and eyeliner lined her lashes and lash line, and a little blush on her high cheeks. On the dresser table was a golden masquerade mask trimmed in a black lustre that extended out into one angel wing on the right side, an attempt at matching her outfit. As the mask settled onto her face, the angel wing neatly curved around her head and the black trimmings gave it a beautiful contrast with her blonde hair, elegantly outlining the half angel wing.

“I look fine. I look fine,” she chanted to herself. “It will be fine.”

And with that, she was off to the Lumiere hotel. The taxi ride was quiet with only the engines other driving cars roaring through in muffled sounds. Angela rubbed her arms at the chill of the air conditioner blasting in the taxi, cursing her stupidity of forgetting her jacket while she stared out the window, dim streetlights and the reddish orange hues of sunset glowing upon her face. The taxi driver watched her from his rear-view mirror.

“Miss.”

Angela did not respond.

“Miss.” He tried again louder and when that didn’t work: “Miss!” He tapped at the back of the shotgun passenger seat. “We're already here.”

“Oh,” Angela apologised while paying for the fare. “I'm sorry. I spaced out.”

The taxi driver waved it off and drove away after she fully stepped out and shut the door. The Lumiere Hotel was grand. Tall glass doors were guarded by a pair of tall potted plants at the front entrance where behind her stood a semi-circular porte-cochère that welcomed the guests. In the centre of it was a small fountain splashing. Walking through the high vestibule, a large crystal chandelier sparkled under the warm white lights, inserting the velvet couches by the windows surrounded by some flowers.

Hyssops, she noted off-handedly.

Angela walked towards the customer service counter with the mask in hand. “Good evening. I'm here for the masquerade dinner.”

“Hi,” the hotel staff beamed. “It’s held on the fourth floor, in the Diamond Hall.”

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome. Have a nice dinner!”

Anxiety gripped at her heart with every tap of her high heels. All the reasons she shouldn’t be here came flooding in, as though her body chemistry had just sent them a blank invitation. My thoughts swirled on chaos and the panic grew or faded in dependence. To stay or to leave? Staying would mean facing a horde of people she didn’t remember, face hidden daggers and answer medical questions she clearly could not, but leaving would ease the intense beating of her heart. It would ease her mind and she could forever put this behind her. Remaining a small cafe owner didn’t hurt. She enjoyed it, she loved it. Every day there were flowers to fluff and trim, coffee to make, chocolates to create. But then she would never know. Who exactly was Overwatch? Who exactly was she? Would there be another doctor skilled enough to help recover her memories? Staying would allow her that chance, leaving... she'd pin herself as a coward and suffer a lifetime of regret.

Besides, if she went, there was a chance he would too, right?

Settling the mask back onto her face, the cool sensation reeled her back into reality. The elevator doors dinged to a stop at the fourth floor. She took a deep breath in, clutching her purse when the elevator doors began to open. There was a crack of the other side, a sea of black dotted with colours. When they fully opened, she stepped out and was startled at the large group of people socialising. Men stood in fine tuxedos while the women strutted their elegant dresses and subtly showed off their every jewels hanging off their bodies. Rings with rocks as big as the rock sugars at work sparked brilliantly, diamond earrings hung heavily on their ears and the bracelets, some gold and some silver, adorned their wrists. Seeing nearly every shade on the colour wheel in such a dazzling display, Angela suddenly felt plain and terribly underdressed. Taking another deep breath in, she lifted her chin and began walking towards the cocktail bar with confident strides.

Whatever. Her character would be the best accessory.

Picking up a glass of champagne, she daintily sipped. Although it tasted good, bubbly and ticklish on her tongue, she still frowned at how light it was.

_‘The kirsch tastes much better than this.’_

She eyed the crowd, feeling her heart sink. She recognised not one of those in the crowd. From their conversations, they simply sounded like ordinary people in politics or business or were well known in their own industries.

Was she at the right place? Looking around, she saw the name ‘Diamond Hall’ on a golden plaque nailed to the wall next to the closed hall doors. Yep, definitely the right place, but why did it feel weird?

The bustling hall was a little cold at the intensity of the air conditioner blasting and Angela wondered who was drunk enough to fully blast the AC at its coldest. Were they trying to freeze someone here?

When the clock hit 8.30pm did the closed heavy wooden doors open and the sea of people enter towards their tables. Angela observed her surroundings. Right on the other end of the hall was a rectangular stage and facing it were fifty round tables covered in white satin and a flower centrepiece.

She aimlessly walked forward. _‘Hyssops again? Is there a theme going on?’_

Which was her table, she wasn’t sure. She only prayed and hoped that she would see a familiar person and that they would direct her to the right one, but even as she nearly reached the front tables, she spotted no one.

 _‘Don’t tell me not even one of the Overwatch members are going to come?’_ she frowned. _‘But Mei had an invitation too. Why didn’t she come?’_

It wasn’t until she made the decision to turn around, forget the happenings of tonight and go home, did someone call out to her from behind. “Is that you, Angie?”

That voice. Angela turned around and saw a tall blond man cladded in a dark blue suit and a white shirt underneath. He wore a simple golden coloured mask from where those vivid blue eyes stared at her. “Jack?”

“It is you!” He quickly crossed over to her. “Why are you here?” Had she received a letter after all? Why didn’t she tell him?

“I received an invitation for the dinner. So I came,” Angela saw no point in hiding it from him anymore, but it didn’t mean she’d explain every detail.

Jack frowned at her curt tone, but otherwise shook it off without questioning it. He then led her to the second table before the stage. “Here’s our table.”

“Thanks.” And she sat down, simply waiting. She had noticed when they neared the table, names brushed in golden calligraphy on lilac paper were placed on the plates.

Dr. Angela Ziegler, Commander Jack Morrison, Gabriel Reyes, Ana Amari, Reinhardt Wilheim, Lucio, Genji, D.Va.... all the familiar names that she had read online. They were here. She stared at her card, feeling the smooth texture of the paper. Her eyes glazed over as she thought. Doctor? Doctor Angela Ziegler? Then back to having received the invitation, recollecting the memories of the expressions of those she knew in the past four months.

_‘So I really am that Doctor Ziegler?’_

The bustling of people in the air-conditioned room and the clinking of their glasses felt foreign to her. Not quite uncomfortable but simply rather not her cup of coffee. And the champagne in her hand still tasted like fruit juice. To flag down a waiter for something stronger or not? After thinking for awhile, she opted not to.

 _‘I’m here to find and confirm the information. Not to drink away.’_ She mentally grumbled, but she was definitely in need for something stronger, nicer, when she returns.

“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for coming tonight!” The hall lights dimmed as the master of ceremonies stood on stage. He was lean and wiry, donned in a silver suit and a matching mask that contrasted his dark hair. “Tonight’s dinner will be a full course meal, celebrating Overwatch’s good deeds in the past of trying to advocate, maintain and gain peace for us all.” He glanced at Angela and Jack, seeing the table otherwise empty and disappointment flashed through his eyes. “I see that we do have two of their old members with us! Let’s give them a warm welcome!”

A large round of applause welcomed the duo.

“Wow, they actually did manage to invite them!”

“The table is pretty empty though. But two is better than one?”

“I thought they liked to lay low?”

Chatter about them began to spread as she felt the scrutinising stares of the crowd. Like an animal on display at the zoo, just watched and stared at. She turned a deaf ear towards the rest of the crowd, listening attentively to the master of ceremonies drone on about some of Overwatch’s past deeds, things that she had already read before. When he was done, he suddenly shifted the topic.

“And tonight, I would be honoured to introduce to you a very special guest of tonight’s dinner. Our mayor!”

Angela’s eyes widened in pleasant surprise. Was Overwatch’s good deeds really that special that it could warrant even the mayor to show his presence?

She watched as a man on the table next to theirs stand up. He was surrounded by rich socialites, dressed lavishly that their gems sparkled and suits crisp. He lifted the glass of champagne in his hand. “Thank you kindly. It is my honour to be present at such a fine dinner as we celebrate the genuine actions of maintaining peace in this chaotic world.”

The master of ceremonies politely replied in agreement before the mayor sat back down. Lines of waiters and waitresses wearing similar silver masquerade masks then appeared from the doors on either side of the stage, carrying large trays of the first course. Wine and a couple of other stronger alcohol were brought out as well, but she stuck to the fruity champagne.

The evening carried on rather dully. Even as she ate together with Jack and the master of ceremonies was trying to liven up the atmosphere, she found her mind wandering back to the memories she recovered. The warmth they sparked was more interesting than any performance that was put on. Some businessmen and politicians came to introduce themselves to Jack and her (why Jack she’d understand but her? She really couldn’t comprehend), but Jack simply made polite conversation with them while she acknowledged their presence and gave her input from time to time. There was a dance floor near the centre and couples danced across it when there weren’t any performances playing. Beautiful dresses twirled and billowed with their movements as their partners dipped and spun them around. Angela couldn’t find herself to be jealous of them, only because she couldn’t even sort out her own feelings.

Not one minute had passed without her eyes scanning for a familiar ninja, hoping she’d catch even just a glimpse and she’d sulkily sip at her drink and nibble at her food. Her hopes were shattered constantly.

It wasn’t until the hour hand struck nine that something different happened. The hall dimmed considerably, and the lights shone directly at the stage. The master of ceremonies stood there once again but there was a different aura emitting from him this time. It was darker, more dangerous and an evil cackle lightly echoed from the speakers, husky and deep, bringing forth a chill that crept up everyone’s spine. Jack and Angela straightened their backs at the sign of danger, lips pursed and eyes sharp. She noticed that Jack had leaned closer towards her, his posture deceptively relaxed as his hand hovered near his suit. She said not a word.

“I hope you’re all enjoying your dinner,” the master of ceremonies chuckled. The tone was no longer welcoming and warm, but instead an eerie undertone, cold and detached. He was unperturbed at the lack of response as everyone stared at him warily. The silence congealed almost to the point of suffocation. But that was exactly what he wanted. Their fear. The cold hard looks of silent panic. The suspense. “Hahaha! Come on. Did you not find the food to your liking, you pompous, entitled trash of society? Say something already! Aren’t you all big shots!”

Amidst the fear and suspense, waves of indignation rolled among the crowd. Fists clenched and flames bursting in their eyes as they tried to hold their anger and pride in. The master of ceremonies laughed harder at the sight, a bellyful of mocking laughter that had him tipping his head back in utter glee and a hand on his stomach.

“Look at your faces. I bet some of you are going to just die from anger.” The master of ceremonies grinned at the crowd and he waved his hand high up in the air. The same group of waiters and waitresses appeared again, this time with trays of red wine. The angry crowd remained furious at his condescending antics, though some still accepted the wine they were offered while some… They weren’t as forgiving.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” A man shot to his feet as the waitress served him his cup of wine. In his fit of rage, he swiped the glass off the table, the sound of it shattering especially jarring in the hall. The wine-red colour splattered across the tiled floors, seeping in between its crack as they made their way towards the master of ceremonies who merely watched with a smile, so fake and so irritating to look at. “I was invited here for a celebratory dinner. Not to some clown’s performance. Manager! I demand to see your manager!”

The smile never once wavered, not even when others began to chorus their agreements with the man. Yet, when his lips parted, and the words rolled off his tongue, there was a dangerous glint that only Angela and Jack could see from the short distance between them. A shudder ran down her spine and she rubbed her arms at the discomfort that crept up her throat. Not long now until the dinner was over, and she could then return to the quaint comfort of her café.

“My manager? You won’t even be alive to see him.”

“Impudent! Go and call your mana –”

_Bang! Click!_

The doors to the hall slammed shut, the sound echoing and shaking the walls and people inside before it clicked lock. Two tall burly men with silver masquerade masks appeared before the stage doors and stood before it, stoic and menacing with their crossed arms. Their muscles bulged behind their clothes, the lines sharp and defined.

“What are you doing! You can’t keep us contained in here!” A lady screeched in fearful retaliation. She scrambled to switch on her phone, attempting to dial the authorities when a loud crack reverberated against the walls, mixing together with her terrified screams and the shattering of her phone.

Angela brought her gaze back onto the master of ceremonies, frowning at the handgun that he held in his hand.

“Shut your fucking mouth, bitch. The police won’t be able to come. The whole area’s already on lock down. Hehehe.” Leaning his weight onto a leg, he sneered down at the two Overwatch agents that had attended the dinner. “Although I wish more of you came, it’s better than nothing.”

Angela held onto her chair, fighting the urge to have a go at the smug man. She had no weapon, nothing but her purse and phone with her. She would basically be presenting herself on a silver platter. Jack gently removed her hand and gripped it in his, as though reassuring her that he got this.

“I know you have many questions but trust me, I’ll keep you safe.”

She nodded her head obediently while biting her bottom lip. Trust him? She had no other choice in this situation.

“Alright. Enough chit-chat I guess,” the master of ceremonies shrugged. Resting the hand holding the gun on his hip, he placed his other hand on his masquerade mask and pressed onto two hidden mechanisms installed by the temples. As he dragged his hand down, the half mask elongated to fully cover his entire face before swinging his arm out to the side and snapped his fingers.

At that cue, the waiters and waitresses, as well as the two burly men by the doors, mimicked his previous action as their half masks also transformed. With not a second later, the air conditioning in the hall started to hiss and a milky white substance began to flow into the hall. It looked similar to the fog that a fog machine would release, and for the split-second Jack saw the fog, he immediately retrieved his handkerchief, wetting it against the cup of mineral water they served, and pressed it against Angela’s nose and mouth, before pushing her down below the table. She looked at the terror and worry in his clear blue eyes, felt the warmth of his hand on her cheeks as they held her head in place to face him.

“Don’t leave this place, okay? And try not to breathe in the fog as much as possible. Please. I beg you. I know you’ve been a little distant lately and I’ve wronged you, but I really can’t lose you.” _Not again_. “Please, Angie. Promise me.”

Guilt stood up and sat on her heart at his words. She could only nod obediently yet again, but she didn't make the promise. His eyes flashed with hurt at her silence and his muscles tensed. There was a warmth upon her forehead and her eyes flitted up to briefly catch the glimpse of his lips and her ears catching the barely audible words he told her last before he disappeared behind the table cloth.

“I’m sorry.”

 


	6. The Dinner, part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The continuation of the earlier chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This hasn't been checked for mistakes, so please excue me on that part. Just two more chapters to go!

**Day 5: The Dinner, part 2**

She was not sure what she should have felt. Happiness? From his worry and care? Guilt from just the damned situation alone? Something was lodged in her throat, hard and suffocating, but it wasn’t from the damp handkerchief. It was cool to the touch as she held it over her nose and mouth, completely covering them but still with a little of space to actually breathe. Her head was bent from having to crouch and she inched closer towards the centre support, leaning against it to rest her fatigued muscles.

She stared at Jack’s silhouette that was roughly outlined against the cloth. She heard him call out, “What’re your statuses, team?” A moment later, he followed up with, “Then commence operations. We have a hostage situation in the hall. And get the entire building on lockdown!”

Team? Angela creased her eyebrows together. Did they already know it was a trap?  

As Jack left, she was left alone with the sounds of screaming and things breaking echoing in the little bubble of her space, and for the first time since she found out part of the truth, she felt no fear. Not a single shred of fear or panic, no worry or anxiety, just an eerie calm that stared at the face of danger head on. At the speed the fog was filling the hall, she guessed that it would take at least thirty minutes for it to fully fill the hall.

It wasn’t as if she trusted Jack fully, that his words meant all the weight they could carry, no. It was the logic telling her that her position right now was the most optimal. With the lack of a weapon and intelligence the true Doctor Ziegler would have, her tiny bubble underneath the table was for right now, truly the safest. And if her assumptions were right, Overwatch was already stationed and prepared.

 

~*~*~

 

 _“What’re your statuses, team?”_ A deep familiar voice called out over the communication earpiece.

Lifting my hand to activate the microphone, I replied, “I’m in position, commander.”

If Commander Jack ignored the bite in my words or simply ignored them, I couldn’t care less. I remained in my crouch in the alleyway opposite the majestic hotel, awaiting for his next order. The night's chill breathed onto my cybernetic body, trying to creep their way into my skin, but nothing would have been colder than my heart at this stage. The frost encircled the beating organ, using its icy chill to push away any signs of warmth, to forget the happiness she gave me, the smiles and laughter, and especially her tender touches. I palmed the brick wall whose shadow hide my form, fingers digging harshly into it when a surge of anger flared.

No need to be angry. No point in being angry. I'm not needed. I'm not wanted. I'm not loved.

Not anymore.

She has someone new. He fit her better than I ever would. The perfect couple. Beautiful and —ugh— handsome, definitely the perfect pairing.

Not like the beauty and the beast.  

The chorus of “I'm in position” from my teammates drifted in an ear and out the other. I gazed at the building, eyes drooping behind the visor as the grand view struck my mind, leading on a daydream about bringing her to the private table covered by bamboo separators and potted trees and then dining exquisitely. Buying her the best Swiss chocolates I could get my hands on, tease her, make her smile, and who’d know, maybe I would get the courage to ask her out – again.

My surroundings were fuzzy, words flew over my head while the anger subsided into the shadows. It wasn’t until Jack’s clear authoritative voice called: _“Then commence operations. We have hostages in the hall. And get the entire building on lockdown!”_

Reflexively, I dashed towards the building, through the alleys and shadows, and nimbly scaled up the walls in record time. A few other silhouettes made their moves too, bursting into the hotel and commencing the lockdown. Terrified screams came out muffled through the walls as I quickly ascended onto the higher floors. As the rest of the team secured the lower floors, I infiltrated through a window of the empty toilet on the fourth floor. Ensuring that I was alone, I dashed out and was met with a soulless hallway. The grip on my katana strapped to my back tightened warily. From afar, I could hear the team easily securing the floor below as I stepped across the empty hall way. Diamond Hall was to my left and the Platinum Hall to my right, and while the former was screaming and crying in absolute terror, the Platinum Hall was silent, just as quiet as a grave. Not a single waiter or waitress was in sight, and no strays of a customer walked around.

Odd. This was way too odd.

Odd beyond the fact that there was no sound either. Not one scream, much less a chatter. Anywhere. There was only the soft thuds of my feet against the carpeted floor and the slight squeak of my body. I winced. Pausing in my steps, I stretched my arms and tried to loosen the tightness that wound up. How long could I last in this situation? Shaking my head, I sneaked my way towards the Platinum Hall.

I stood guarded around the corner, ears and eyes peeled for any signs, but there was nothing.

Except for the smallest whiff of a disgusting stench that started to seep through the cracks of the door. It was pungent yet sickly sweet, and it brought about a sense of dread in me. Step by step, carefully and alert, I inched my way towards the large double doors, when all movements halted abruptly. From the cold tendrils curling beneath the door, I saw the milky white fog already seeping through. I stepped back. Under the light, just at the right angle, I caught sight of the green tint in the clouds. Pursing my lips, I relayed to the team: “We have a situation. Casualties unknown but it’s the same Corpse Poison. Platinum Hall, next to target location.”

 _“Shit. Fuck,”_ Jack swore. There was a brief sound of winds whistling before his voice came back. _“Prioritise Diamond Hall. We need to save the hostages first!”_

“Yes, commander.”

Jack’s voice sounded different, as if underlying that strict tone was worry and anxiety swimming just under the surface. He has never shown _that_ kind of care for the hostages before. So, why now?

And it didn't take two seconds for it to click. The invitation. The dinner.

Angela.

Standing against the double doors to the Diamond Hall’s, I pushed. But it didn’t even budge. Glancing down, I heaved a mental sigh of relief at the absence of wispy tendrils waving mockingly at me. Rushed footsteps padded behind me but my attention was solely on the target. The doors made of heavy wood and most definitely blocked. Gripping onto my katana, I urged at the Shimada blood in me to rise, causing a surge of power to channel through my veins and into the slightly unsheathed blade. A sharp green aura flickered around it and a draconic aura flourished in the deathly still hall as what sounded like a dragon’s roar vibrated.

_“Ryūjin no ken wo kurae!”_

No time to think of another solution, just utter simple brute force as his incoming teammates arrived at the fourth floor to see a translucent green dragon slamming into the doors with a great force with my blade slicing through the wood like a knife to a butter. Splinters from the dragon’s attack flew past my face as I rushed in, immediately catching sight of the bodyguards that stood by the doors. They raised their guns and with lightning quick reflexes, I brought the still shining blade before my face, easily deflecting the bullets away with a few honed swipes. The bullets lodged themselves into the walls behind them, a few accurately hitting the men. With my heel planted into the floor, my calves brimming with strength, I pushed off hard and fast towards the nearest bodyguard, slashing the katana across his neck with one quick slash before darting forward once more towards the second bodyguard. He didn’t even have the time to blink when the swing of my blade found itself across his neck. The arterial spray washed the entrance a crimson red like a fountain of death and I ignored the terror of the humans in the hall, frozen and stock still as though they’d seen a ghost while dashing across the long centre, towards the blond man engaged with a man in silver.

Commander.

The trace of pain upon sighting Jack quickly disappeared. Trust? Loyalty? I had no time spare for those thoughts. Responsibilities pressed against my wishes, duty battered my rationale, and logic overpowered my anxiety. Where was she? I couldn’t see her, not from scanning the hall. I couldn’t hear her, not even a single breath. I vaguely recalled some of my teammates rushing in from behind, half assisting the hostages in their escape and the other half incapacitated the charging waiters and waitresses as I rushed forward to assist the commander. _Commander_.

I wouldn’t admit it but even his name left a bad aftertaste in my mouth.

Vaulting over a waiter, I sliced at his torso with a quick swipe of my wakizashi in mid-somersault and jumped off the moment my toes touched the floor. A hand stretched out, palming the face of a waitress that was charging at me with a battle cry and she scrambled to attack my hand, desperately clawing at them with her nails, but my fingers maintained their steel grip on her silver mask. I jumped, the muscles in my stomach tensing and I lithely lifted myself up and over her head. Fingers on the mask loosened, twisting around with my body and I kneed the base of her skull. After sending her flying, I spun to my right, unsheathing my wakizashi and slicing at the hand aiming for my throat, the knife dropping onto the floor as the man yowled in agony. Easily darting through the enemies, disposing some and incapacitating some, I left behind a trail of blood in my wake as I finally got to the stage.

The silver masked man glanced over my way and a crazed laughter bubbled from his chest as he leapt back to avoid Jack’s straight punch. Shurikens flew with the flick of my wrist, but the man easily ducked and rolled away, the sharp corners digging into the stage. When he saw the Overwatch team members trying to control the area, he laughed once more. His black eyes glazed over, a tint of insanity shining through as he grinned at them.

“You can try! Run! Run all you want! But all of you will die here with me!”

I landed a distance away from Jack, three shurikens ready between my fingers. Jack craned his head back just the slightest, giving me a look, I didn’t dare analyse. “Genji.”

“Commander,” I curtly replied before gesturing at the mad man with my chin.

Understanding my silent question, Jack heaved a sigh before deftly reloading his handgun and returned his gaze onto the enemy. “Head of the underground drug ring, Slade Voltair, am I right?” The last question was directed at the laughing man before them.

Slade dramatically tilted his head back with the back of his palm against his forehead. “Oh my, you’ve found out my identity. What ever shall I do?” His droopy eyes sharpened as he glared at them from the corner. “Fucking kill you all, that’s what.”

“It’s too late. By now, we’ve already evacuated the whole building,” Jack argued.

Slade bent his body forward, back set into a hunch as he dismissively waved his hand. “Hahaha, really?”

Jack twitched at the smile, his fingers itching to squeeze the jaws and wipe that mockery off his face. He wanted to defend his statement, to argue that he was right, when a voice spoke over the communicator.

 _“Commander. The whole hotel’s on lockdown. We can’t leave,”_ Tracer said. _“I’ve tried every evacuation route. We’re stuck.”_

Jack cursed for the third time that night. Slade burst into ecstasy as he watched the commander’s face twist. “Evacuated the whole building? Haha! An absolute joke.”

My eyes swept across the now empty hallway, opting to find a way out of this instead of listening to their argument, and watching the wispy fog slowly drift downwards like the deathly cloud that it was. The place was already half filled with it and I wasn’t sure if I was feeling glad or dread at not seeing Angela anywhere. The fog had to be coming from somewhere, a main source that fuelled the air conditioning. The vents; this was used as a means of transport. So, perhaps the main unit? If I could find that source and the unit, destroy the connection then perhaps that would give us more time to find a new evacuation route.

 I looked up at the air-conditioner, staring at the square vent that the fog was coming in from, trailing across the ceiling to try and mentally map out the system.

“Don’t think you can try and find the source, ninja boy,” came Slade condescending tone, catching my attention. He now stood straight with his weight leaning on a foot and arms crossed over his chest. That silver mask still laid atop his face, giving off a clear contrast to his dark eyes that unrestrainedly showed his disdain. “In about…” He counted off his fingers, “…twenty minutes, the entire hotel would be filled with the poison. And none of you will ever be able to esca – Oh, whoa there! You might hit somebody with that thing.” Slade tilted his body to the side as shurikens flew past his body.

Jack immediately followed up with a few gunshots of his own and he closed in onto Slade in an attempt to reduce the distance. By now the fog was a few heads above us, the hissing unnaturally loud and contemptuous. I was about to rush towards Slade with another attack when Jack stopped me with an outstretched arm.

“Look for the source. I’ll deal with him.”

With a nod, I darted out of the hall.

Jack watched Genji’s back disappear through the busted doors with hidden hopes restrained in his eyes. Please succeed, he prayed. For Angela’s sake.

“Oh my, you’re not asking him to bring the woman out? I’m sure being outside is a lot better than being under the table,” Slade taunted, his hand sneaking into his pocket, but it didn’t escape Jack’s eagle eyes.

With a quick aim, he instantly fired off a shot, forcing Slade to jump back and remove his hand from the pocket. Tutting, the man wagged his finger at Jack in a chiding manner. “All you people are going to hurt someone like this. So bloodthirsty.” Ignoring him, Jack quickly closed into Slade who tutted once more. “Really impatient, Jack. What shall I ever do with you?”

Of course, he wouldn’t be fazed at the other man knowing his name, but the annoyance boiled deep in his system, as hot as lava. If only they hadn’t received the invitation, then she wouldn’t be in the middle of danger. She hadn’t known a single thing, innocent like a child, oblivious to the evils that came together with her identity, at the true identity forgotten and fragmented in her exceptionally brilliant mind. He miscalculated this time, having chosen to trust her in trusting him with everything – ever since she lost her memory that is – and he had to pay for it now. Just because she never mentioned the invitation never meant that she never received it.

It was all his fault and his to blame.

But he couldn’t help but apportion the blame onto Slade as well. For if Slade never sent out that invitation, this wouldn’t have happened. For if Slade never sent out that invitation, the bond between him and her wouldn’t have tensed, and he knew, just knew that it was on the verge of snapping.

Yet, the guilt was an anchor around his neck, weighing him deep into the brine. He didn’t know that his actions had claws that sunk into her neck, pulling her down together with him into the abyss, subtly whispering intentions that swayed her mind, pushing her further into a corner; She needed him, his protection, and he was the only one there for her.

_‘I’m always going to be here for you. Trust me.’_

But now, all he could think of was: I’m sorry.

As he battled it out with Slade, his eyes glanced over towards the doors, where Genji last left, sending a silent prayer into the Heavens – if they existed – and for once since the whole ordeal began roughly four months ago, he chose to rely on his teammate.

_‘Please, Genji. She needs you.’_

There was a lot of things that Jack wished he had said. Regret washed his every bone, weighing him down like a heavy boulder sitting on his shoulders. He decided he would tell. If he lived past tonight.

Oblivious to the turmoil wreaking havoc within Jack, I had already run down the emergency staircase, evidently faster and more efficient than any other means now. The hotel’s blueprint drifted into my mind and I mentally searched for the main plant room of the air conditioning systems, going on a whim of understanding that this hotel was centrally controlled by one system, instead of an individual control, and with that that I should head towards the central room to shut it off, thus hopefully halting the flow of the poison. As I burst through the emergency door, I was met with a sea of people huddled together, some screamed in fear as they tried to break open the reinforced hotel doors; Nothing could break in, or out. No one paid attention to the weird guy in a cyborg suit as I snuck my way into the plant room further down behind the lobby, nearer to the back of the hotel. I reached out to open the door, but it refused to move. Confused, I tried to apply force and yet it didn’t budge.

Fires of fury and hatred were smouldering in my narrowed eyes. I got no time for this! Metal screeched under the blow of my wakizashi as I tore it apart in a fit of rage and forcefully kicked it open, but it was in that furious haze that I missed the gunshots that were now embedded in my torso. Disgruntled and staggering back, I glared at the men holed up in the plant room behind my visor, a hand hovering over the broken parts and blood that seeped out from the cracks.

“Fuck! He’s still standing!”

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

Hunched over with heavy breaths, I summoned all the willpower to calm my raging heart as I fought to deflect the storm of bullets coming my way. But her face kept appearing in my mind, frightened and alone, confused to everything that was happening.

 _‘But she’s Angela! She’ll be fine!’_ Was what I kept telling myself, but when you love someone, it’s hard to _not_ worry.

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

I reflexively dodged to the side at the bullets shot from behind and threw out a few shurikens at my new enemy, when the man cried out in alarm. He ducked to the side at the first instance my arm moved, causing the flying projectiles to miss and lodge themselves at the wall behind him.

“Whoa! Genji! It’s me!”

I ignored the familiar southern drawl as my mind spun with incoherent thoughts. Fast, I just got to go faster, hurry up and get this done. The quicker, the better. Then she’ll be safe. Safer. Everything became a blinding mess of green and red as I made quick work of the men in the plant room. Blood and gore splattered across the large compressor and condenser, and I felt the chill of the place crawling under my skin. Indistinctively, I knew someone was calling my name, but I couldn’t register who it was. All I could see was red. Fury at Slade and his men for putting Angela in danger, fury at them for ever having lived and causing me to miss out on my chance four months ago, fury at them for causing me to lose her. All the missed memories I could have made with her, the laughter and smiles I could have seen, the kirsch in the coffee that only I could take during late night adventures.

I felt something wet and warm upon my cheeks, but I kept on massacring as more men came, having seemingly found where most of them hide. Probably from knowing that the most dangerous spot was sometimes the safest. They appeared from the other end of the room, coming in waves with their masks and suits. Distantly, I heard gunshots that were shot from behind, but my body instinctively left it be, oddly knowing that the sharpshooter was an ally. There was also the fast zipping of something blue before my eyes, but my shurikens weren’t quick enough to keep pace, but I kept trying. Even when my body was screaming in pain, even when my movements slowed. I kept going.

It wasn’t until I missed my strike and staggered in my steps that I paused, staring at the pile of corpses that lay by my feet in a dark worship. My muscles terribly ached and my body was extremely bloodied, the heavy pants coming out in foggy puffs.

“Hey, man. Are you alright?”

I slowly turned my head towards the sound of the voice, an inch by an inch, and the sight of Jesse McCree’s worried countenance filled my glazed vision. Why did he look so blurry?

Warm drops were still on my face when I stared at him and I removed my mask. With the heel of my palm, I wiped the blood away, but all it did was dilute the blood that was already staining my hand. I stared at it in perplexity as more trickled down my cheeks. A stifled sob tried to escape and the dam broke when I heard a heavy step taken towards me. My head shot up to stare at Jesse who watched in agony at the tears that streaming down, weaving and falling against the pale white scars.

Jesse, at that point, couldn’t comprehend why the tears, but he, as well as Lena, had known that for the past four months, Genji…  He’s allowed the hope he carried to slip between his fingers, no longer bound, as his soul crumbled. They didn’t understand how or why Angela would have disappeared without a trace, leaving not a word or a note, and that had taken its toll upon their young friend. But when they stumbled into her at Mercy’s Apothecary (they should have known, with that name), it was as if that hope was rekindled and Genji looked forward to things in life again. He was smiling more, joking more. She was the catalyst to the good things in his life, but at the same time, she was his doom. He’d gone cold inside to escape the pain of abandonment, and the isolation in the bureau hadn’t been easy on him either. They tried to help, to cheer him up, but Genji’s empathy withered and died, numbing his feelings, a total mental anaesthesia.

Jesse took another step forward, holstering his Peacekeeper as he lifted his arms.

My gaze was drawn to the moisture dripping onto my palms, creating a small puddle that overflowed and trickled down my arms. My body was vibrating, from the sobs or the shivers from the chill – I wasn’t sure. And I couldn’t bear move, to wring my hands and fling the pooled tears away – were they really my tears?

I was suddenly pulled into a warm embrace, strong muscles encircling my smaller frame as his beard tickled my bare cheek. “I’m sorry,” came Jesse’s gruff voice. _I’m sorry that you’re feeling like this. Sorry that you’re in so much pain and I can’t do anything to help. I’m just so sorry._

The sobs wrecked my body in larger waves and the tears fell harder as I crumbled into his embrace, allowing myself the shortest of reprieves amid this chaos. Just why? Why did this have to happen? I wasn’t allowed to do what I wanted in the Shimada clan. Couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t be himself – but I _wanted_ to do what I wanted. Even if they despised it, even if they looked down on me. So, I played around, became the perfect, charismatic young man that no women could resist, clubbed and drank without a care in the world, and what do I get from it?

A scarred body from the feud with my older brother.

I had forgiven him though, having been with Zenyatta and learning to come to peace with my cyborg self.

Then when I pined for her, craved and ached for her comfort and smiles, to the point I gathered my courage to formally ask her out, she disappeared. As if she had wanted to escape the harbinger of bad luck that I seemed to be – at least with the wishes that I had. Oh, God. I was just so tired. So, so tired. I really wished I could just give up, give up and forget everything. Perhaps find Zen again. Live like a hermit. That really sounded so good. For now.

“That doesn’t sound good at all, love,” came yet another familiar voice from behind. There was a gentle pat on my back. I fought back the chokes and sobs as I removed my head to look at Lena, large round eyes drooped in worry and care. With another pat on my back, I felt Jesse release his hold on me as Lena cradled my head to her shoulder, cooing as I cried harder into her embrace. Soft touches combed my hair, pats reminding me so much of Angela’s, of when she combed my hair with her fingers, but instead of bringing tranquillity, it brought on another onslaught of tears as I cried for what was lost – and what could have been.

And that’s when I remembered about the mission tonight. This was no time to be crying and sobbing my heart out.

“Yes, yes, it is, Genji,” Jesse chided.

Had I said that out loud?

“Yes, love,” Lena echoed this time. “And I’ve already shut down the main controls. They should be fine now. We just have to find a way out.”

“We probably just have to get the hotel off lockdown.” Jesse chimed in thoughtfully.

I rubbed at my cheeks as they discussed, feeling a lot lighter than I had been in the past few weeks. I breathed in the cold air, feeling the chill wake me up from within. “Then I’ll rendezvous with Jack. The hotel controls should be by the main lobby outside.”

They beamed at me and I returned one back, albeit twitchy and not as smiley, but one nonetheless before putting my mask back on. It wasn’t long after that I returned to the Diamond Hall. There were loud crashing and the floors shook, as though an earthquake was hitting. Paying it no heed, I continued, but it was on my way there that my blood froze and a chilliness unlike the cold air conditioning sweep past my veins.

I had heard a scream from inside the hall, sheer fear having taken the place of confusion at the next words.

“LET ME GO!”

But it was the familiarity of that voice, the sweet voice that would accompany my dinners and my nights, the mellifluous tone bringing me warmth and smiles. And it was her that screamed.

“Angela!”

I dashed into the hall as fast as I could, ignoring the searing pain in my ankle at the misstep that I took. The room was already nearly filled with the fog despite having the main controls switched off. Through the white clouds, there beneath the stage, I saw Slade gripping onto the arm of a blonde woman who wore a golden angel winged mask and Jack groaning as he tried to stand up. He was beaten black and blue, mask fallen, and lip bloodied. Since when did the commander become that shitty in a fight?

But my attention was quickly drawn back to the struggling blonde woman as I helped Jack back to his feet. Her hand was covering her mouth in an attempt to reduce the amount of fog she’d breathe in. If memory served me right, there should have been no one else in the hall; They should have all been evacuated. My gaze floated over to the toppled table behind them and the fallen handkerchief on the floor, when it clicked.

“You – fucking! Let me go, ahh!”

And her voice came again as reality crashed down like a tidal wave. No wonder Jack was extra worried for the hostages. No wonder he had wanted me to turn the main source off.

It was all because she was here, hiding in the hall.

And he never said a word to me.

A growl erupted from my throat as I dug my fingers into Jack’s arm, the anger reigniting in me once more. What the fuck was this man’s problem and informing me of things? My vice-like grip tightened with each passing second, but Jack never retaliated, never argued. Only hung his head in shame.

“Why!” I howled, throwing the man back onto the ground as emotions got the better of me. “Just fucking why!”

Slade chuckled darkly upon watching the scene. “Ooh, infighting? This looks fun. Do go on.”

“You fucker!” I roared at him. It was because of him too! Because of him that Angela invited herself to danger, Angela who had not remembered a thing! Without sparing a glance at the moaning man, I dashed towards Slade, arm pulled back with my fist at ready. Slade tilted left, but I immediately spun around and landed a carefully aimed back spinning kick to his head. My foot barely whizzed past Angela’s head as my foot landed hard upon the silver mask, forcing him to release his hold on her arm. Ignoring the shock of pain that shot up my leg, while Slade was falling to the ground, my body fully completed its spin as I quickly followed up with a jump kick using my other leg, the flat of my foot shooting up and slamming him straight in his face, sending him flying towards the stage. I lightly landed on the floor, gingerly holding onto Angela’s arm with a hand as I did and ignored the man that crashed onto the stage.

I felt pained seeing her dishevelled state. Her hair was in disarray and her cheeks pale. “Angela?” I hated how small my voice sounded, how weak it was.

But I felt her hand on my mask and I instinctively snuggled closer to her warmth. That single touched effortlessly washed away all the aches in my body and I held my bloodied hand up to hold hers, when I paused. I didn’t want to sully her.

“Genji,” her voice called to me softly, snapping me back to reality. My bloodied hand felt warm in hers and I choked back on the sobs I thought were long over. She watched me sadly through the mask before settling my hand on her hip, the red palmprint a stark contrast against her white dress, and… she leaned in. Her arms encircled my waist, freezing me into place.

 Her face was buried in my chest, uncaring of all the blood I had on me nor the men I had thrown on the ground (wasn’t one her lover?). I was confused, yet pleasantly shocked. I had decided before to give up on her, to leave with the good memories I had. I thought I was going to do alright by my choice, until I heard my name fall from her alluring lips again.

“Genji…”

My arms slowly wound their way around her waist, taking in her gentle demeaner and beautiful appearance. Leaning down, I breathed in her scent, feeling intoxicated immediately. But then, I crashed back into reality when I took another, smelling the poison now so familiar to me mixed with her scent. In a panic, I quickly removed my mask and placed it over hers. It wouldn’t fit, but the filter in the mask would help. It didn’t seem that she had breathed in the fog for a long time, seeing as there were no warts or pus seeping from her unblemished skin. She hadn’t bled from her any of her orifices or had her skin rotting. “Go, quickly. To the entrance. Jesse and Tracer – Lena – are going to find a way out!” I urged her towards the door, but she kept her grip on my waist, never letting go even when I fitted the mask on her.

“Why weren’t we dating?”

“Huh?” I was caught off guard at her question.

“Us. We were in love. Why weren’t we dating?” She asked again, voice slightly muffled from the mask.

“You were in love with me?” I questioned back, question marks filling my mind. “Didn’t you love Jack?”

She shook her head. “No. The old me, my memories. I remembered some.”

“Wait, you mean –”

“I loved you, you idiot. Why did you never ask me out?”

“B-But – What? Wait, this isn’t the time for that! Quickly, get outta here!”

“No! I’m not leaving without an answer.”

“Now is not the time for your stubbornness, Angela. Please, get out of here.”

We squabbled back and forth, more panic on my end and stubbornness on hers. She tried to return me my mask, but I easily overpowered her with my strength and kept the mask there. With a bitter smile, I leaned it, breath kissing my mask as I gazed into her eyes through the visor. “I’m not at all human, Angela. The poison won’t kill me.” That fast, I didn’t add. Seeing her mouth opening for another argument, I hurriedly added, “I’ll buy you dinner when this is over!”

She was startled, the words somehow striking her as familiar. And I hoped it did. Those were the exact same words she told me when we were chasing Maximilien back in the Overwatch days. That was the exact moment that sparked our dinner adventures, even if they were mostly in her office.

Angela stared into his eyes, searching for a sign, just of anything that he was going to let her go again, but she’ll be damned if she let that happened. Seeing that nothing was wrong, she finally agreed.

“Get Jack out of here too.”

As Angela lifted the unconscious commander by the arm and slung it over her shoulder, there was panicked shout and a crack of thunder before a force pushed her down.

“You’re not fucking leaving this place,” Slade sneered, the blood dripping from his head making him a lot more menacing with a gun held pointed towards them.

A sharp pain attacked her head as her head slammed onto the side of a table. Unwillingly, she felt her mind go black as it slipped unconscious. Her body slumped into a heap above Jack’s. I watched it happen before my eyes as the anger surged once more from the pit of my stomach. Standing up, I turned around, scarred face bare and katana in my grip as I glared at Slade. I felt the same power coursing in my blood as I tried to rouse the sleeping dragon. Everything was hurting, pain zipping through my body as I fought to maintain my focus. One last shot. One last strike. That’s all it was going to take. One move to end it all.

“You will pay for what you’ve done,” I snarled.

Slade was taken aback at the red gleam in my eyes. He quickly collected all his fury, his wits as he pointed the gun at me. “Try me,” he glared back.

“ _Ryūjin –”_

A muffled shot popped through the hall, the sound unnaturally loud during the standoff. All I caught was the sight of a cylindrical dart zipping through the air and hitting Slade square in the cheek. My anger sizzled away at the confusion and I turned back to stare at Ana who stood by the doors with her sniper rifle at the ready. The green aura around my blade died away as I sheathed it.

“Ana, what –”

“Grab them and let’s go,” she said with no room for arguments.

I blinked when a tall muscular man stepped out from behind the corner with his enormous hammer perched on his shoulder. Reinhardt smiled at me and waved a tiny wave. “Genji! We’ve gotten an escape route. Let’s go.”

Coming back to my senses, I dashed back and picked up the knocked-unconscious Slade while Reinhardt easily picked up both Angela and Jack. As we made our way down, I noticed the now empty hotel with the hostages all escaped. It wouldn’t hurt to say I also noticed a large gaping hole by the glass doors of the entrance. Web-like cracks crept along the ground in the direction of said hole and I felt my lips twitch. What happened to switching off the lockdown of the hotel?

As though reading my mind, Reinhardt chortled a belly full of mirth. “The controls were rigged. This was faster. It only took some time.”

And that was how the mission ended. We found out after that the Diamond Hall was reeking and littered with corpses from an event that had begun slightly earlier than the Overwatch celebratory dinner.

I’ve also heard that they found out Slade’s full background history, but I had not have the time or energy to spare for that. Because now I stood, before Commander Jack Morrison’s hospital bed solemnly.

I had felt it, the deterioration of my body. The dead parts of it were slowly dying away and I had no one to help fix me up. I’ve asked Lena if she could contact Winston, but her frown and shake of her head had told me everything. I wistfully thought of Angela, a bitter smile breaking on my face, but that was simply that: Wistful thinking.

And it was with that, that I bowed ninety degrees towards my commander. “I accept any punishment that you’ll give me.” For hurting you, for going against you. And I silently prayed that he’d take care of Angela when I left, for I planned to leave without notice. I ignored the searing pains in my body, the stabs hurting from within. My blood was boiling, my body was overheating.

Jack groaned as he slowly sat up on the bed. The hospital door was locked, leaving only us and the empty vase by his bedside. He looked over at the bowing agent and a tired sigh echoed in the four walls. “I’m not going to punish you.”

“But, commander – ”

“Just leave, Genji.”

I took my bottom lip in with my teeth, unease settling in. I tried to reason it out with him again, but he had cut me off once more, yelling at me to leave. He said no more than that; For me to leave. And leave I did. With one last final bow, I left wordlessly.

Seeing Genji leave and the door clicked shut behind him, Jack buried his face in his hands. He wanted to so badly, at that moment, to tell Genji the truth of everything, but he couldn’t bear to. It would have hurt; hurt Genji, hurt Angela, and hurt himself.

Let him hurt alone. Let him bear the burdens and pain alone, even if he would become their enemy. Because after all, ignorance is a bliss, wasn’t it?


	7. Forget Me Not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genji and Angela are at the hospital after the mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This... got way too long. And now, only one chapter left! Woohoo! So excited!

**Day 6: Forget-Me-Not**

_‘Ah, fuck. This hurt.’_

I paused two steps outside Jack’s room, gripping onto the railing on the wall as the pain in my chest flared. A discomfort lodged itself in my throat and I attempted to breathe, in and out, slow deep motions, but no matter how I tried, the lump didn’t want to go away.  Breaths came out forced, ragged, like a dragon’s claw taking possession of my neck. The dragon commanded its power, wordlessly demanding my life. Equalled with its might of guardianship was its cries for destruction, laying dormant. To protect or to retrieve, were its choices, or to put it simply, to live or to die.

 I wheezed a sharp inhale when it squeezed its claw, the lack of air causing my lungs to contract as they desperately scrambled for oxygen. I palmed my chest, fisting the fabric of the shirt, _forcing_ the pain to go down, but I was a victim of my own devices. The metal in my body began to overheat again, the flames laying a fiery path in my veins. My flesh screamed in protest, a dragon’s agonised howling in my ears, rioting as my flesh started to reject the foreign objects, even if they’ve been conjoined for over a decade.

I lifted a foot off the ground, the tips of my toes grazing against the tiles. It was heavy. All my muscles groaned at the simple movement, but with a slow controlled breath, I gripped tightly onto the railings, lifted and dropped the foot forward. Sweat clung to my face, tracing along the pale scars as I panted. I clutched harder at my shirt, feeling the dread settling in.

Would my body not hold out until then? I promised her. Please, let me hold out until then. Don’t fail me now.

It’s one promise I can’t break. Please, don’t make me break it.

The metal seemed to respond to my mental pleas, as though they resonated with the one that had breathed life into them. That if its her, they could do anything, and it was that that also appeased the guardian, making it choose to let me live – even if it was simply a little while longer, just for her.

She was all that filed my mind as I trudged along the corridor. Each step was still as heavy as the first, but it was steady. Instead of pain anchoring me down, the same power of the dragon in my blood floated through my veins, lending me the slight power that it was willing. Soon. I’m almost there.

My palms were hot and sweaty, certainly leaving disgusting trails on the railing for the next person, and the room was already in sight. Just a little more. My feet dragged across the floor, heavy slapping on the tiles and though the pain was suppressed, it still felt hard to breathe. Short pants, heavy, and I stopped. Right before the door.

 _‘At least their rooms are on the same floor_ , _’_ I bitterly thought at how mine was too, but on the other side, far away. A miracle I managed to walk here to be honest. The nurses saw me, but mostly paid attention to their work. They were busy, bustling about like bees hurrying under the orders of their queen.

And I had survived through, without them telling me to go back.

A shaky hand lifted. Deep breath in, and out. The hand rested against the cold metal of the doorknob. What would I see at the other side? Would she welcome me? Or would she rather have Jack visit her instead?

Then the image of her hitting her head and slumping on the ground resurfaced, causing a wave of agony to curl in my heart. With a tight grip on my shirt, I released the deep breath built up in my chest and twisted my wrist. I needed to know, to see with my own two eyes. And the door opened with a click.

Tick.

Tock.

The hands of the clock slapped loudly in my ears. I stepped closer.

Tick.

Tock.

There weren’t any other sounds in the room except for hopeless breaths and loud, echoing ticking. The measured movement was moving in time with the heartbeats crying inside my restless ribs, and my steps moved in sync.

Tick.

Tock.

I still remembered the way her face would light up with a smile, easily drinking away at the coffee, or the way her nose would scrunch up and eyes drifting up as she pondered on something. On her unbroken wings, she would fly, in unspoken promises, that she’d watch our backs. She was there, protecting us. She was valiant. She was merciful.

She was our Mercy.

My chest jumped as the emotions swirled with the misty breaths fogging her mask. Streaks of fire burned my cheeks, unable to hide behind my mask. Each new wave a hot trail of agony as a hand shakily reached out. I lightly brushed her golden hair aside from her forehead. The flames of despair and regret burned brighter than the pains I felt, a deep emptiness filling my heart as the sentiments raged past the seams. Breathing hitched and knees buckling, I fell by her bedside, metal fingers tightly holding her limp one in desperation.

“Angela? Angela, can you hear me?” I choked out. I winced at the pain in my chest, cursing at the bullet wounds I received, and wheezed before trying to calm my myself. She was alright. She’s Angela. My dear Angela...

I still owe you dinner. Please don’t do this to me now.

Warm tears dripped onto her fingers and I quickly wiped it away with my other hand, only to freeze and stare at the crimson tinting it. I stifled a sob, pushing the pain of seeing a lifeless Angela away, as I looked down onto my chest. The green hospital shirt was stained with my blood, the metallic smell spreading and nearly dying the front a full dark red.

No, I breathed out. Fucking wounds, couldn’t you stay closed?

Grimacing, I gingerly swiped at my fallen tears with my metal thumb. Her name fell from my lips in soft whimpers as I pulled my body back away from her bed, unwilling to stain it – or her. My murmured voice spoke of sweet promises under my breaths as my vision started to distort, the painful yet beautiful sight of her blurring under a greying curtain. I forced my eyes open, pushing hard against the bandages that hid the surgical wounds while the blood continued escaping. I spoke of our future date, that I would bring her to an exquisite restaurant, possibly high up in the sky, because an angel like her deserves only the best the sky could offer, like a vast expanse to anywhere her freedom so desired. Through the entrance, past the short water wall with clear transparent water falling like a curtain would bring about a zen-like feel, so that she may feel at peace. I’d then lead her to a table made private with the bamboo separators, near the large open windows where she could watch the night sky sprinkled with stars hopefully visible despite the light pollution. There would be a different kind of serenity as potted plants, though sparse, decorated the place, with her smiles and laughter the best event of the night.  

“Of course... I wouldn’t... forget the Swiss... chocolate... too.”

......

...

“I found him! He’s in here!” A nurse called out frantically as the ajar door was flung open in panic. Light footsteps entered the room, rushing towards the fallen patient on the floor, blood slowly seeping out from his clothes.

“Hurry and prepare the operating room!” A doctor yelled as he picked up the half-cyborg, half-human man with a grunt and carefully settled him on the wheeled stretcher that a nurse brought in. “Get someone to clean the mess up too!”

“Yes, doctor!”

The nurses ran to get the corresponding tasks done. Even though they looked kind of helter-skelter, there was a certain method to their chaos. One checked Angela’s vitals, searching for anything amiss while those by their station hurried to prepare the documents the doctor on surgery would need.

A nurse carrying a bucket of soapy water, bleach and a rag dragged her feet into the room, cursing inwardly at having to do the dirty work just because she was the newest and youngest of the group stationed today. When she walked through the door, she was startled at the ginger haired doctor already standing beside the unconscious patient.

“Oh? Who are you?”

“I’m new,” the doctor replied nonchalantly without even looking up from the papers in her hand.

 _‘Then they should have given the cleaning for you to do,’_ the young nurse grumbled internally as she fell to her knees by the puddle of blood, noticing the lack of wrinkles of the new doctor and thinking that she was rather young. “Seriously, why can’t that patient just sit still,” she complained while scrubbing the floor. “No one should even be able to move after surgery!”

“Don’t you know who that patient was?” The ginger nurse calmly checked the machines Angela was hooked up to. Her bright auburn hair fell to cover the dark glint in her eyes as she looked down to inspect the mask.

“No,” the nurse on the floor grunted, wringing the rag in the bucket beside her. “Some lovesick man looking for Doctor Ziegler?” She scoffed.

Yes. They all knew of Doctor Angela Ziegler, a talent in their industry. Read her academic journals and findings with nanobiology and her work on cybernetics. They were surprised when the beautiful, well-known doctor turned up by the hospital, and even more shocked when they found out it was related to the hotel scare that happened not long ago.

“That was, I believe, Genji Shimada.” The older nurse wrote some data on the paper on her clipboard, her dual coloured pupils turning sharp. “The first successful experiment of Doctor Ziegler. Rumours has it that she saved him from the brink of death.”

“Wait, he’s the robotic guy?”

“More like a cyborg.”

“Ugh,” the younger nurse groaned as she finished scrubbing the blood away. Thankfully it was still fresh. “Yeah and? He can’t possibly be experiencing the Florence Nightingale effect? He looks so ugly.”

The ginger nurse didn’t bother chiding her for the insult. Not all nurses were after all, compassionate. Or lawful. “It doesn’t matter what we think. Stop being gossipy. Go back to work.”

“Alright, alright,” and the younger nurse left after finishing her task.

When she was sure that the younger nurse left, the older nurse turned back to stare at Angela’s face. The blonde’s features were twitching in pain, brows tight and nearly touching, while sweat covered her pores.

“Poor, poor Doctor Ziegler,” the only other person in the room cooed flatly, resting a hand on her hip. “What mess did you get yourself into now?”

The doctor flipped a page on her clipboard with a thoughtful hum. Details of Angela’s last hospital visit was recorded, noting the concussion and injury on the brain, and the blood loss that occurred. Looking at the date, as she calculated the weeks, she found that it was roughly 18 weeks ago.

“Ah, and you still haven’t fully recovered your memories? Well, it’s no surprise. These quack doctors telling you that you'll remember and recover in a short time.” The nurse rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath. “Your body is already functioning different from ordinary humans, with your applied nanobiology. Of course, you wouldn’t fully recover.” She proceeded to put the clipboard by the bedside table, her hands then hovering above Angela’s forehead. “They can’t. _But I can._ ”

 

~*~*~

 

A heavy feeling weighed on my mind, a looming presence drifting closer to me in the vast darkness. My heart raced faster at the mere knowledge that something was there, yet I couldn’t see it, nor did it make a sound. A ghostly apparition making its way to me and I scrambled back. If it was the Grim Reaper or a convoy to hell, I wouldn’t want to know. Not now. I don’t want to go.

A sharp pain in my chest jerk my attention towards it, but as I looked down, I saw nothing but a fair bare-chested torso. Shaky hands slowly flitted over my skin, running across the perfect unblemished skin, across the ridges of my still existing abs, feeling the narrow waist and defined hips, _made of flesh and not metal._ Human-looking skin, back to when I was still the young clan heir of the Shimada, back to the time before my older brother cut me up, destroy my limbs, when I lived a carefree life without another care in the world, just me, myself and I (and the ladies of course). A disgruntled groan rolled off my tongue when a slow, burning pain dragged itself across my chest, before periodic stabs hooked itself onto my flesh. Resisting the urge to cry out, I fell to my knees, painfully aware that the unknown presence still watched me with a penetrating gaze. I looked down onto my chest, confused as I writhe in pain, at the lack of cuts or puncture marks. They felt so real, too real to be a vivid dream.

This was real. It’s happening.

“Argh…”

Desperate fingers clawed and clutched at my chest, but the useless attempts at easing the pain never subsided, not even when I allowed the darkness to swallow me whole once more, all the while that eerie pair of eyes watched me unendingly.

……

…

A blinding light engulfed my sights when my eyes flew open with a desperate gasp for air. My eyes were dry, that much I could tell as they squinted at the bare contact with the air and wished they were hiding behind their protectors. Groaning, I tried to get myself to sit up with my elbows. I had barely succeeded with lifting my body a mere inch off the bed when a calloused hand stopped me by the shoulders, and when I struggled, the person simply forced me back down onto the bed with a push.

“The fuck…?”

“You should stay in bed, love.”

“Lena?” I groggily turned my head to my right, faintly making out a petite woman munching on peeled, cut apples. Sunlight was lighting up the outline of the curtained window behind her. She held some apples out to me, the smell of fresh, juicy apples sneaking into my senses.

If Lena’s here, then…

“Yo,” Jesse grinned lopsidedly at me.

I groaned.

“If I didn’t know better, I would think you didn’t want us to visit you,” Jesse mock pouted. “Do you not want us anymore? Sob.”

Lena rolled her eyes at the cowboy’s drama as she proceeded to slowly feed me the apples that I gratefully nibbled on. Not to my surprise, I couldn’t really move my arms or feet, much less feel my fingers. “You were out for a while after surgery, again.”

I sunk my head further into the pillows as another groan escaped. I stared at the opposite wall with half lidded eyes, memories of last night streaming through my mind. Her blonde hair matted against her forehead, covered in bandages, beautiful features scrunched up in pain that made my heart ache with her every twitch. She looked so weak, so… vulnerable. Her breaths slowly fogged the oxygen mask, the machines hooked up to her the only other indicator that she was still alive.

Was she even cleared of the poisons?

“If you’re worried about Doctor Ziegler, she’s all right. I’ve asked the nurses. She’s not poisoned either. She’s just hurt her head really badly this time,” Lena explained upon noticing the tight furrows of my eyebrows.

I tilted my head to look at her, a frown setting upon my lips with my brows furrowing even tighter. Hurting her head really bad this time? …That was my fault.

If only I had been more careful when I had pushed her out of harm’s way, if only my foot hadn’t shocked itself when I twisted around, causing me to fall and stumble.

Lena watched as her bedridden friend squeezed his eyes shut, that scarred countenance twisted into such pain. She glanced over at Jesse, a silent tacit understanding communicating between the two. How were they to help? Words were meaningless, no matter how well they meant them, because before they could help, Genji had to allow them to work first, to accept their words, their help. Everything in life, was always a choice after all. And for now, if he chose to wallow in pain, they'll let him. Just for a little while.

She could only reach out a hand and pat his head, caressing it gently, ignoring the glistening wetness that stubbornly formed beneath his lashes. Seeing him like this made her heart ache. She missed the Genji that would crack jokes with her, the one she could tease and laugh with. This… this was just too painful.

I… I hadn’t known how much time had passed. The sunlight was no longer trying to peek through the curtains and my two friends were already long gone, leaving me alone to the silence of the night. And my thoughts. Thoughts that kept wandering back to…

I sighed.

Flexing my fingers, I felt the blood swimming through my veins as the sensation of touch returned. Slowly, I observed my body from within, sensing out the changes that occurred. To no surprise, my cyborg self was still breaking down, but not as bad to the point where I would no longer function properly. With a deep breath, I tried to then get up, only to realise the futility of my situation when I had to bite at my bottom lip to keep from crying out. Sharp pain speared through my torso and my left foot, realising then that lower limb was bent weirdly from the shape beneath the blankets. It couldn’t properly straighten, dangling at an angle to the side, as though broken. My expression darkened. I suspected that it would take at least half a year before I break down completely at this rate. Then glancing down, I lifted up the neckline of the shirt to stare at the bandages wrapped around my torso, remembering the bullets that were lodged there from the mission.

Once again, I sighed.

What am I to do now?

I didn’t have the mood to play with my phone, no mood to watch the muted television in front of me. All the television spoke off was about a man that had gone missing for over a week now and still not found, only really taking notice when I realised that his build was similar to Slade’s.

I laid there motionless, imagining that I was a corpse (I wasn’t that far off from one anyway), and just counted the seconds as they passed. Time seemed to congeal at that moment, its passing lost in my mind. A slow road to recovery.

At 9pm, my door clicked open as a nurse walked in. I immediately shut my eyes, pretending now to be asleep, listening intently on the sounds of her footsteps. I heard the relief in her released breath when the steps neared my bed (was I truly that frightening to ‘normal’ humans?), and I felt her presence by my IV drip. The tinkering of metal and crinkling of plastic drifted into my ears while she replaced the bag, until her voice joined as well. 

“So many scars...” she muttered. “Why did Doctor Ziegler save someone like you?”

I resisted the urge to move, to roll onto my side and peek my eyes open. Yeah. Just why indeed did she save me? Was it her instincts as a doctor to not let anyone die? Or did she want to try her hand at saving a life that was on the brink of death?

The sounds stopped, but I knew the nurse was still there. Her breathing was soft, and I felt her stare scrutinising my every scar laid bare.

“And why did you go and see her? Can’t really be the Florence Nightingale effect could it?” A pause. “Ugh, whatever. He's not even handsome. Not reaally my type.”

Her footsteps eventually died as she left the room, closing the door behind her with a click.

_‘Who the fuck cares if I’m your type?’_

When I was sure she left, I opted to turn my head to the side, staring at the ends of the curtain dangling motionless. A bitter smile played off my lips. Handsome, was it? I used to be. Not anymore.

Just like how no one wanted me.

Closing my eyes, I released the pent-up frustrations, the sadness, in one deep long sigh.

No one.

It was bright when I woke up the next day, just in time to see a male doctor standing by the foot of the bed and checking the clipboard detailing my condition.

As though sensing that I was awake, the doctor looked up and smiled despite my silence. “Good afternoon. I'm guessing you slept well?”

I nodded mutely.

“Good, good. Any discomfort anywhere?”

I shook my head. A blatant lie.

He came over to my side while the nurse carefully lifted up my shirt to change my bandages, silently observing as she did. His eyes trailed over the markings of past battles and the surgical marks he created, checking that the sutures were properly in place, before taking a step back. “The second surgery was a success, though I’ll advise for you to not move until the wounds are closed. As much as I’ve helped you remove the bullet wounds, I couldn’t fix the cyberised parts of your body.”

My eyebrows darted up high to my hairline. He could tell?

Seeing my reaction, the doctor continued, although albeit embarrassed, “I'm a huge fan of Doctor Ziegler’s work and have read on her works regarding applied nanobiology and cybernetics. When we found you in her room, I thought you were most likely one of her projects that she worked on.”

His words zoned out in my mind, falling onto deaf ears as I let the hope sizzle into ashes.

Projects? Hah... I guess that’s all I was.

I finally turned to lay on my side as the doctor continued rambling on. I refused to look at him any longer. A glance was enough to imprint his lustrous black locks in my mind, the bangs swept back in a nice fashionable gel, and his bright blue eyes lighting up at the mention of the famous Doctor Ziegler. Tall and slim, well built. A young, charismatic, handsome man.

More handsome than me. And most definitely not a project.

_‘Stop it, Genji.’_

_‘It's true. I'm ugly. I'm a monster.’_

_‘You fucking idiot. Stop. If you miss her so much, go and see her. Better than this self-pity party you’re not inviting her to.’_

I bitterly chuckled. What more could I actually say? Anyone, _anyone_ would be a better fit for her than me. Glancing at the embarrassed doctor from the doctor of my eye, I ignored him as he left the room. The hours passed, I ate what was given and didn’t get to see Jesse or Lena that day.

But when night came, I decided to hold onto the crazy end of my mind and meet her. It was already a few days since the mission and us ending up at the hospital, and after the surgeries, my body seemed to somewhat hold up. I hope. Dragging my legs slowly with controlled breathing, deep pants to ease the pain, I stood up. A muted sharp cry escaped through gritted teeth as I dropped and stumbled. I glared down with a frown at my left foot that was evidently broken. The ankle part was broken, the limb twisted, where bottom of the foot was facing the left.

 _‘Fuck, just fuck.’_ Gripping onto the sheets, I tried to stand again, only to wince and sink my teeth into my lips with a snarl. _‘This shit fucking hurts!’_

In a haze of madness, I planted the foot with the sole furthest away on the floor, my leg bent weirdly. The metal bed frame creaked and dented under my grip, and in one clean move, _crack!_ I forcibly twisted the foot back into place, causing disagreeing shocks to rampage in my nerves. My breathing grew haggard, coming out in short puffs as black spots attacked my already blurring vision. I tightened my grip in response. That shit hurt, really fucking hurt. But it was only metal, shattered bits and cracks of something that wasn’t alive in the first place, and when the first wave of pain was over, and I had control of my sight and breathing again, I tested the water once more.

I probably must have broken that pain nerves of that foot, over-shocked it into oblivion, because I could now stand on feet that actually looked normal. Slightly wobbly, but I could walk. Enough for me to crawl out of bed and stand, to quietly make my way through to the other side without the nurses on my tail. I looked fairly normal to outsiders, but internally, I was screaming. My chest would hurt at the slightest wrong move and if I went too fast, my breathing couldn't catch up.

Passing Jack’s room, my steps halted in hesitation. I bit the insides of my cheek, mind whirling with questions before choosing to move on.

A deep breath in to stabilise my emotions and I twisted the doorknob, silently pushing my IV pole in. The closing click of the door rang loudly in my ears, followed by the loud thumping of my heart as I watched wide eyed and mouth agape. Turning her attention away from the window, her profile was illuminated by the moonlight that was streaming into the unlit room, setting her golden locks ablaze. There was a large cotton gauze taped on her head and her vivid blue eyes seemed to twinkle a little brighter in the dark, lit up with utter joy. Joy? Me? Here?

“Genji!” She lifted a hand that was folded on her lap and waved. “You’re all right!”

“Mmm,” I hummed in acknowledgment.

My steps were slow but sure as I made my way to her side, dark eyes scanning every inch of her face for the smallest of signs that something was wrong, but when her grinning lips fell into a confused gape and her head slightly tilted, I felt my face split in half at the wide grin reaching ear to ear. “You’re okay,” I breathed out, resting a hand by her bed as I sat down on the empty chair.

“Yeah, I feel better.” She nodded resolutely, and a burden seemed to have lifted from my shoulders when I sat up straighter and let out a relieved sigh. “How are you feeling?”

“Haha,” I chuckled humourlessly. “As good as I can be. Doc already patched me up here.”

“Oh, that’s good...”

I reached out my hand, slowly like you would to not frighten an animal, and Angela stayed still, allowing my fingers to brush against the gauze. My sombre gaze dropped to find hers, still twinkling bright, looking up at me from beneath her lashes. A silence fell over us. Comfortable and peaceful, with the rhythms of our breathing the orchestra for the night.

My hand trailed down to her cheeks, the back of my fingers tracing her jawline before holding onto her chin. She shuddered under my fingertips as my thumb rubbed just below her bottom lip.

“Genji,” she called out while gripping my hand in hers. A panic inwardly rose when I caught her serious expression. Her cheeks were slightly pink and I froze in fear. The bliss I felt squeaked like a frightened mouse and turned tail. Was she going to ask me go leave? Did she want to chase me out? Wait, if she was, then she wouldn’t hold my hand.

“Y-Yes?”

A roll of her eyes. If she caught onto my nervousness, she never mentioned it. “When are you going to take me out for the dinner?”

I blinked slowly at her. Dinner? Dinner... oh, dinner. I gulped the nervous lump in my throat, feeling the warmth of her fingers covering mine. Our faces were still so close, her breaths fanning my lips. “When we’ve both recovered. I think we can have the dinner then.”

She beamed at me and I felt the tips of my ears go pink. “Sounds great! I can’t wait for it.”

I nodded in agreement.

My hand slowly left her face and I thought to settle back into the chair when she lightly tugged at my limb. “Angela?”

She said nothing, but when she tugged at my hand again, I let her pull me closer. My body was bent over her bed while she leaned nearer and lifted her other hand to caress my scars. Was she appalled by them? Did she find them ugly? My gaze darkened as I dropped my head, casting shadows over my eyes for fear she’d see the hopelessness and fear in them. She’s not the same Angela I once knew, yet she’s still fanned the flames of my love that I forcibly dimmed. It was the same face, the same smile, but the cafe owner Angela was like a new breath of fresh air. She was freer, happier. Maybe this was better, for her to not recover her memories. She was happy as Doctor Ziegler, but she was tied down and restricted. As cafe owner Angela, there was nothing to worry about except for the bills and customers, and she genuinely loved it there.

But then I felt it, the warm moisture of her lips upon the scar on my cheek. Frightened like a poor deer caught in the headlights, I froze at the contact. When she pulled back, I was too afraid to ask, to afraid to break the bubble she created. I closed my eyes as her lips peppered my face, on every scar that carved itself onto my skin, from my cheeks, to my forehead, before moving down to the long, deep one by my nose.

“I feel like you’re afraid, Genji...” she whispered softly, a trace melancholy tinting her voice. She too, didn’t dare ask him anything. Why he’d freeze at her touch, why’d he keep his distance. Had he not loved her?

“N-No, I'm not. I'm just...” I reluctantly pulled back and was I allowed to feel the slightest shred of disappointment when she didn’t stop me? I glanced into her questioning gaze, feeling utterly small at that very moment before dropping imine to my lap. “It’s just... aren’t you together with Jack?”

Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline in pure confusion. “What? Since when?”

I looked back at her, an eyebrow of my quirking up in similar confusion. “Aren’t you? Jack said –”

“What did he say,” her face twisted into a slight snarl when realisation dawned upon her. What more lies did Jack tell? What more did he keep from her?

Seeing her twitching in rage, my eyes flew wide open as I tried to explain, “No, no. He didn’t say that you were together, but he made it sound like it. So, I thought –"

“We’re not. We were never dating,” she glared at her hands. “He was only a close friend of mine, someone I trusted.”

I had caught onto that last word but didn’t have the chance to ask when she continued.

“He was just the only one there when I woke up in the hospital. I didn’t remember anything or know anyone, but he felt familiar, he was kind. Naturally I would be close to him.”

“Wait, hospital? You were in the hospital? When?” I straightened in my seat, a sense of panic running through me. I hadn’t heard anything of that sort!

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Yeah, hospital. About a little over four months ago? I woke up in a hospital and he was the only one by my side. Wait, he never told you?”

I bitterly shook my head. “No.” Of course, he didn’t. But I didn’t wish to dwell on it any further, because at the very least, the biggest misunderstanding was cleared.

She watched him visibly relax and the anger diffused as well. Misunderstandings could always be talked through at a later time. Calling out his name softly, she beckoned for him to come closer.

“Huh?”

“I’m not done. Come here.” She grinned.

My eyes widened as a blush crept along my neck and onto my cheeks upon realising what she meant. Lips parted to question her, but I crumbled at the stern, slightly narrowed glare. I obediently leaned forward.

“Do you hate your scars a lot?”

I closed my eyes as she took my face in her hands, tracing the scars on my face as she lightly pecked each one. “Mhmm...”

“Why though?” she pulled back slightly when she was sure she kissed every one of them. “Do they still hurt?”

I shook my head. “They’re ugly.”

“Really?” She forced my gaze to hold hers. I could only bitterly smile when I saw her beautiful countenance up close, thinking that I'll never be able to stand next to her. “I think...” she murmured, a finger grazing the deep cut across my face, “that the strongest souls emerged from suffering.”

Before I could ask any further, her hands dropped after giving me a long, tender kiss on my forehead. “You’re fine the way you are, Genji.”

It was odd indeed. When she had awoken, she found that she remembered of some memories of her past, especially of those when she was recruited into Overwatch. She recalled the events that had transpired and of the related people. They were coming to her in waves and didn’t hurt one bit, like a scene of a drama that was playing, only that it happened in her head and not on a screen.

My heart felt warm and fuzzy at her words, and a smile blossomed on my face. “Thank you, Angela.”

She returned my smile and then we descended into silence once more. I stared at her, watching her comb her hair with her fingers as she leaned against the bedframe.

“You know, I think they should have kirsch in the hospital,” she grumbled lightly under her breath, breaking the silence. “I'm suddenly craving for my special coffee.”

A peal of joyful laughter burst out from my chest. “I'm pretty sure alcohol isn’t allowed in hospitals.” Her bottom lip jutted out into a pout and I leaned over to pat her head, gazing deeply into her eyes. “I'll order you one for our dinner. Sounds good?”

“Mhmm, it does.”

And just like that, we spoke into the night, speaking of random ordinary topics of food and drinks, more specifically the coffee. She had laid down on her side at some point, eyes fighting to stay awake, her lashes constantly fluttering softly. I continued whispering of pleasant scenarios to her, of stargazing in an empty meadow, of trying macaroons on the Eiffel Tower, of strolling under the Sakura trees in Hanamura... up until her eyes remained closed and her breathing grew heavy. They were pleasant to her, but bittersweet to me. Why did I have to say those words? I was already leaving. I shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up.

_‘But I hoped she would not forget me. That I'm not just someone passing in her life.’_

The days and nights passed like that, and as I was recovering, I’d constantly drop by her room in the dead of the night with a rose I’d find in the hospital gardens. Her laughter in the hospital gave me the joy and willpower to simply not run away from it, and I hadn’t seen Jack either; He was already discharged long ago. And I supposed it was a struck of fate that we could be discharged together too.

If my calculations were right, it was already 5 months since her incident in the hospital. So many changes in such a short time. She was back to her cafe and I returned to the bureau to report myself.

I stood outside Jack’s office, back in the comfort of my suit, fingering the letter in my hands.

“Come in,” Jack called, and I entered.

I ignored my shaky movements, trying to look as natural as possible, but there was something lodged in my knees, blocking it from bending properly. There was a drag in my arms as I tried to move my elbows. Slowly. It would be my end.

“Genji, how are you?”

I could tell that Jack was trying to maintain his professionalism, from his flat tone and steady gaze, yet his interlaced fingers betrayed his emotions. They were tightly bound, shoulder muscles tensed. His eyes dropped to the envelope in my hand.

“I'm good, commander. I'm also here to hand in my resignation.”

Taken aback, his fingers slowly unlaced themselves, reluctantly receiving the letter from my outstretched hand. “R-Resignation?” He parroted Genji as though he couldn’t believe his ears.

I firmly nodded. “I would like to quit.”

“B-But...” Jack stopped himself there. What right did he have to go question an old friend’s motives? His own motives were already questionable enough. He stared into Genji’s eyes that were steady and unyielding, and he sighed. Settling the envelope on the table, he rubbed at his temples. “Alright. Take care, Genji.” Just like that, Genji Shimada was unemployed. No more words were said

I nodded my head, pausing in my spot. As though he sensed my intentions, Jack lifted his head to gaze sadly at me. His lips were pressed into a thin line, eyebrows curved in reluctance.

“Where will you go?”

My hopes dashed at his words. Biting back the irritation in my voice, I replied, “Not sure. Maybe I'll go find Zen.”

“But Angela...?”

I shook my head, choosing not to respond. “Thank you for everything you've done for me so far, commander.”

Jack waved it off. “I'm no longer your commander. Just call me Jack.”

“Jack,” I tested the words on my tongue, feeling somehow bittersweet. It was an unspoken promise between friends, yet an invisible boundary of separation. “I wish you the best, Jack.”

“Same to you, Genji.”

I turned and left the office, the unpleasant taste of regret and broken hopes drifting heavily in the air. “Goodbye, Gabriel,” I said when I noticed the tall dark man standing by the door to Jack’s office. “Thank you for everything in the last years.” For taking care of me, for the laughter you’ve given.

Gabriel’s face twisted into an embarrassed scowl as a thick heavy hand ruffled my hair. “You're really going to leave?” He asked, having overheard.

“Yes, I think it's time to relax. I'll go and find Zen, perhaps.”

He nodded sadly. “Take care of yourself.”

“I'm not leaving yet. I plan to lounge around before I do.”

“Sounds good.”

A foot was lifted, ready to leave when I turned around to find him staring after me with a sombre gaze. “Can I give you a hug before I go?” I’d always remember my times in Blackwatch and how he’d always took care of Jesse and I (the other man was the troublemaker. I'm innocent). Wish I told him before, but this man was more of a father than Sojiro ever was.

Gabriel scoffed and rolled his eyes, but it couldn't contain the trace of joy that shone through. “Come ‘ere.”

I chuckled and squeezed the bigger man tight, hopefully conveying all I never said with that. Angela’s condition made me realise how short life could be, that anything would happen, yet I couldn't bear to stay because of that exact reason. I didn't want them to despair when they found out of my condition, and (I glanced at Jack in his office as I hugged Gabriel) I didn't want to expose Jack for what he's done. That was the last bit of mercy that I could give him.

“Take care, Genji.” Gabriel patted my back, watching until I turned around the corridor. The smile on his face dropped as he turned into Jack's office and locked the door behind him. “What's going to happen now? Our best spy and infiltrator just left.”

He didn't have the heart to hold him back and things were dire. The situation was a lot worse than they thought, yet he didn’t want to burden one of his best men (son) with it.

Jack groaned and massaged his temples. “What more can I do? I'll figure out a way. Don't worry.”

Gabriel pursed his lips.

They had found out that the Slade they captured was a fake, a decoy, which explained the sheer madness of the man in trying to bury himself along with them. Their intel was insufficient, lacking, when the news of Slade having a twin brother surfaced, and this was only because the same man had gone missing from his office a week before the mission. Even he hadn't known that his older brother was knee deep into the operations as an underground drug ring leader. The twin brother had gone mad from the drugs administered into him and was now lying unconscious on the bureau's medical bed slowly recovering. He was also our best bet at capturing the real Slade.

“I'll be fine, Gabe. Trust me.”

And that was all Gabriel could bet on.

 

~*~*~

 

“Angela!”

The blonde laughed as the smaller Asian woman pounced into her arms and gave the biggest bear hug possible. “Hi, Mei!”

“I'm sorry that you had to tend to the cafe by yourself.”

“It’s okay. I'm happy to do it if it lets you recover properly.” Mei was overjoyed in seeing her friend in one piece. When Jack had thought that the cafe owner would stay put in the cafe, he had assigned for Mei to remain back to protect Angela, but who’d have thought that their sweet, strict (independent) Mercy would rather rush head on into danger instead?

Angela got right into work, greeting each colleague as she got herself ready to work, having already been updated on the cafe affairs when Mei had come to visit. She was cleared on her head injury when the doctors observed no abnormalities in her.

Mei noticed the little skip in her friend’s steps, the cheerful tune as she hummed. “Did something good happen?” she giggled.

Angela avoided Mei’s teasing gaze while focusing on putting the empty tray back on the counter. “It's nothing.”

Mei laughed heartily, arranging the food in the display nicely. “Sure, sure. I guess your blush means nothing.”

Ignoring her friend, Angela decided to instead busy herself with the counter. Mei turned back to her tasks, happier than when she first started. Something seemed different with Angela today, something that was there before separating the two was not there anymore.

After a moment, Mei heard Angela exclaim in confusion. “What's wrong?”

There were sounds of paper crinkling as Angela removed the bag from under the counter.

“Oh, the bag Genji left.” She peered over. “What’s in it?”

“I'm not sure,” Angela frowned at the slightly heavy weight. “I'm going to take a quick break.” Straightening herself, she retreated into the kitchen, away from prying customer eyes to look. The cooks were busy cooking up a storm, sparing only a simple greeting before returning to work.

She was curious. Why would he leave a bag like this here? Why hadn't he taken it back? A hand entered the bag’s mouth and she felt the hardness of paper on her fingertips. Gripping it securely, she pulled it out, the plain unadorned ivory book cover appearing before her eyes. The words [花笑み] were written in gold calligraphy, below it the romaji [Hanaemi]. The book wasn’t thick, probably just about an inch in thickness, and it had contrasting covers; ivory for the front and black for the back. [切ない] were the words brushed in gold upon the back cover, with [Setsunai] written below it; A similar yet contrasting design to the front. With her curiousity piqued further, she turned back to the front page and opened the book.

**[A smile as beautiful as blooming flowers.]**

There was only that one sentence written on the page. Yes, written. Her fingers traced the words, feeling the bumps as she did. She was certain, this was handwritten. When she turned the page, the story then began.

It spoke of the beautiful smile a certain woman had, detailing of her small quirks that she had. How she loved drinking kirsch in her coffee, the way her nose would scrunch, and her eyes would drift up when she pondered on something.

She found her lips tugging into a smile as she continued to read, this time turning into a random page. The book had then gone to describing a scene, one that somehow struck familiar. It spoke of how the woman had dressed up as a witch during Halloween, down to even having black pointy hat. That night during Halloween, the Overwatch team had celebrated with spooky food and drinks, and of course, trying to beat each other with the biggest loot of candy. It further detailed the event, of how Jesse the dressed as Van Helsing had gotten drunk, and how Mei, dressed as the Chinese zombie, was trying to scare the living daylights out of said drunk Jesse, and essentially how happy everyone was.

It was this particular part that struck her odd. Because this happened to be one of the few memories she recently remembered.

A weird thought crossed her mind.

Turning the book over, she stared at the calligraphy that painted the dark cover before turning to the first page. There, written like the first page on the front, was a lone sentence: **[A bittersweet feeling, painful yet wistful.]**

On the next page, was a sombre tone setting the book. It wasn’t much like a memoir of what she read earlier but a narration like an actual story.

 

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

 

_Dear reader, I wish I could tell you that it ends well._

_That I found her after two weeks, that nothing had actually happened to her, that it was just a simple misunderstanding. Perhaps, she had gone on an impromptu trip to the Arctic to see the penguins and polar bears, to be surrounded by all the fluff and majestic wonders of life in the ice and snow, doing all that research and contemplating on medical magic like she normally would._

_Because last night, I dreamt that I woke up after lying asleep on her lap — one of my favourite moments in life. I closed my eyes and drew in a lung full of air, letting out a contented sigh. I focused on her fingers in my hair, the sound of paper rustling and smelled the alcoholic coffee wafting in the room. A few minutes stretched out like an eternity, a blissful eternity. Outside the room, the pitter patter of rain began to fall._

_“Oh, it’s raining.” A whisper barely audible tickling my ears._

_“Mmm, it would seem like it is.”_

_There was silence when she spoke again. “If I recall, it was raining when I found you too.”_

_My body stiffened at her words and my eyes finally cracked open, falling first on the ever-present smile, and I instinctively relaxed. “Yeah, it was raining just like this at that time.”_

_She hummed and went back to her book, and I went back to enjoying her warmth. These moments were just short intermissions from the daily hecticness of our lives, but it was all we needed at times._

_“I’m glad that I did though.”_

_“Huh?” My eyes flew open._

_She peeked over her book, her gaze glinting in amusement from behind the glasses. “It allowed me to meet you.”_

_I shifted on her lap so that I fully faced her, and I chuckled when she jumped at my hand touching her cheek. With her attention stolen from the book, I gazed at her as the world around me fall away._

_I vividly remember my lips parting as I wanted to tell her — tell her things that I left unsaid, but when I saw the dull white ceiling of my single bedroom dormitory, I was slapped in the face, back into the harsh reality; That I still haven’t seen her in the past two weeks, of neither hide nor hair. Not even my calls or texts were going through. I initially thought that she hadn’t texted me in that week I was away because she hadn’t wanted to disturb me during the mission, but even two weeks later? It’s been a long time… And the worst is not even seeing her in the office._

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

 

With shaky hands, Angela finally lifted her head from the book, sinking her teeth onto her bottom lip. What that from Genji’s point of view? There was a trace of sadness in those blue eyes of hers when she thought of how the poor man must have been lonely, and adding onto her attitude weeks ago, gods, she couldn’t even fathom how he didn’t hate her yet. A deep breath in, and she tried to steady her emotions, forcing the tears to disappear and her heart to slow.

Carefully bending the book, she lightly flipped the pages open, seeing the rush of blurred words – _handwritten words_ – dance, when it suddenly hitched and stopped. Confused, she opened the book at the page it stopped at, picking up the hidden bookmark that was left inside. The bookmark was unique; A dried and flattened red rose that had lost its lustre was laminated and cut into a rectangular bookmark, with a golden ribbon tied at the end. She lifted it up to peer at it closer when she realised the uneven marks in the transparent film. They looked a lot like dried glue. Turning the bookmark over, she traced its cut edges as an indescribable feeling started to churn in her stomach. It was handmade, done with the use of clear glue stick and a pair of transparent film paper. She guessed that the dried roses were placed in between the transparent films after he applied a large section of glue, where he then constantly flattened it and allowed it to dry before actually cutting it up.

She thought that the surprises were over, intending to put the bookmark back, when her eyes caught sight the words written on the open pages. She was drawn in, like a curious cat to a box.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

 

Dear Angela,

There were many things that I wished I could tell you, but I don’t know where to start.

When we first met, I was broken, more than any person should possibly be, and you saved me. You gave me grace and patience, kindness and care, even though all I ever gave you then was unresolved anger and despair. You could have given up on me, but you didn’t.

Now, after years of silently loving you, if I had to choose one thing to say, it was ‘Thank You’. I believe I never told you that enough, never shown you that enough.

Thank you.

You are the reason for my every smile and is the reason for the beauty in my world. You are my joy, my angel, the purest person in my heart. And falling in love with you, was the best choice of my life, even if it was never my choice to make. I hadn’t chosen to fall in love with you, I could not control it. Your smile, your personality, everything about you made it impossible for me to simply do anything else. And each day, I found myself falling ever more in love with you.

Thank you.

And I hope that now, you find your happiness, Angela.

Because…

 

When spring comes again,

I only have one wish, that

You’ll remember me.

 

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The single sentences after the title pages are the corresponding meanings to the Japanese words on the covers.


	8. My Destiny Was Always In Your Hands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're out of the hospital but danger always seems to find them no matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter of the mini series!! Oh my. I finished this at 5ish am so you could read it earlier ;^; Because Gency week is long gone! 
> 
> This chapter is for ObamaCare4Real and for Glazz, for loving this series when I was insecure about it myself. Special thanks and love to a certain hobbit writer for helping me with this <3 It’s also for all the others who had silently loved this.  
> Now onwards,  
> The final chapter!

**Day 7: My Destiny Was Always In Your Hand** s

 

Closing the book in her hands, there was a moment where she simply stared off into space. Her mind wasn’t whirling with thoughts nor was she terribly troubled by it, rather... she felt at a loss. Was this what he had intended? To blindside her with this book? Filled with his feelings and memories? Staring blankly at the book, she traced the golden calligraphy of the title, feeling the slight friction and raised bumps of the dried ink under her fingernail.  

 _‘Was he afraid I'd forget him?’_  

 _‘You already did.’_  

 _‘I’m remembering him now though?’_  

 _‘He’s already reduced to a mere memory to you in his mind. It’s never the same.’_  

She gave a rueful grin, bringing the book closer to her chest and held it close. How much pain had he been suffering? Because of her. He never once complained about it, not even when he initially found her coincidentally in the café. It was like he had accepted her and was willing to start anew.  

A drop of water plopped as her head ached with a dull thump. Like a crack in the sky, rain began to pitter-patter on the cold pavement. Looking up with a wince and fingers on her temple, she watched the rain fall from inside the kitchen, staring at the reflection of light dancing in the water curtain.  

 _‘It was raining when I found him too. Just like it was raining after dinner in the office.’_  

Hugging the book with an arm, she reached out the open backdoor to touch the cold falling droplets, letting it trickle down the slender fingers. They move slowly around her digits, the droplets transparent yet opaque, falling as if beckoned to the ground with the crook of a siren’s finger. With the breeze, her fingers grew cold, but would it be crazy if she said that she felt warm at the touch, as though she felt close to it, a bond that couldn’t be broken. 

 _‘Because it’s a connection between him and I?’_  She bitterly chuckled before retracting it back into the warmth of the kitchen.  

Seeing that the time for her break was almost up, she hurriedly returned to her job, settling the book back into the bag and dumping it under the counter. Yet, drama already started to roll before she even stepped out of the kitchen. 

“Moira? What are you doing here.” Mei’s tone was flat with an edge around it, though the smile remained. It lacked any warmth, having simply been forced there as the shorter woman looked at the newest incomer. 

Brushing the ginger hair out of her mismatched eyes, she grinned lazily at Mei. “It’s been a while, Doctor Zhou, but I wonder if I could still read your colleagues' research into the long-term effects of cryogenic freezing.” 

Mei tried to stay firm against the woman, but she couldn’t deny the tremble in her knees, the tight grip on her pen as she inwardly cried softly: _Why is this woman even here!_ Moira’s smile may have seemed friendly to those oblivious, but Mei knew first-hand of the mad woman’s persistence in science and its discoveries, and her experiments _can_ be lethal. Look at Widowmaker, damn it!  

Moira went up to the counter, the lethal grin still on her sharp face. “Could I place my order?”  

“Yes... Well... S-Sure... maybe?” Mei’s smile twitched as she dug her heel onto the floor, stopping her from taking a step back and ignoring Moira’s knowing smile at the same time. There’s nothing Moira could do to her now, don’t panic, don’t worry, she kept telling herself. With a deep breath, she recollected herself and asked in a friendly manner, “What would you like to order?”  

Before the ginger woman could even get a word in, Angela appeared from the kitchen with a paper bag in hand. “Moira? What are you doing here?” 

Pleasant surprise shone in those pair of mismatched eyes. “You’ve remembered, huh? Took you long enough.” Confusion flitted across both Mei and Angela’s faces. Moira laughed in dark glee at the sight before gesturing for Angela to talk to her in a corner. The two women shared a glance when the café owner ultimately agreed. Looked like she was extending her break time.  

“How’s your head doing?” Moira asked when the pair reached a quiet spot in the corner of the café. Buds of camellias decorated the café this week, dotting the place with various tones of red, pink and white, where even a row blocked them from view of curious onlookers.  

Angela was apprehensive and Moira rolled her eyes at the blonde doctor’s silence. “I’m the one that helped you recover your memories, Doctor Ziegler.” A groan escaped her lips when Angela stared incredulously at her. “It wasn’t hard. Those quack doctors don’t even know what they’re doing. Your body’s been altered with your applied nanobiology, so it has always been functioning different than normal humans.”  

“Oh.”  

“I’ve already stimulated your cells to begin their proper, _actual_ recovery. So, how are you feeling?”  

Angela nodded her head slowly, digesting the new information that she was told. “It’s not hurting as when I first remembered a memory. But I feel like I haven’t remembered everything.”  

Moira drummed her fingers on the table, resting her chin in the propped-up palm thoughtfully. “It seems like quite a slow process. But it should be the majority of your memories because by now only two weeks had passed. Do you feel any different?” 

Angela shook her head. She felt nothing different apart from feeling a lot lighter than she used to be.  

Moira nodded slowly. “Alright. After today, you should probably remember it all.” 

“What do you mean –”  

A clawed hand reached out towards her face, the limb enlarged and glowing orange before her eyes. A chill ran down her spine as fear quickly consumed her. Subconsciously, Angela moved back from the unknown but Moira was quicker. She shot to her feet and leaned forward; the sound of the chair scrapping back echoing exceptionally loud in Angela’s ears. A cold sensation washed over her body, but unlike the odd warmth that she felt before, this was a cold that chilled her bones to their very core. She forced herself to keep breathing, to stop the panic from rising in her chest, and the palm descended upon her head. Fingernails dug into her scalp, sight shrouded in a flickering orange and she felt a force enter her cells. It stimulated the blood in her veins, causing them to pulsate and thump with a life force unlike the norm. A tinge of gold surfaced from the red cells, detaching and floating in the stream of blood as though they belonged before hopping and allowing the current to bring them away. They travelled through every vein, every stream, bringing about a chilly comfort in her body as she felt lighter and lighter, and the dull ache in her head fully disperse, dissolving into the shadows with no traces of its existence.  

But images danced in her mind, filled with voices and emotions, rushing and flashing like a movie on play. She saw a young blonde girl chasing after her father and mother, a loving couple who kissed her and called her their little angel; she saw death and chaos as the world fell into ruins with the war on omnics; found light in saving and healing people with her own two hands, that there was where she belonged. And then there was a shroud of darkness before her sight was filled with still colours and light, and Moira’s smug grin was clear in front of her eyes.  

“That should be all but it should come back to you over time. Maybe in the next month or so.” 

 Angela blinked to steady the blurring of her vision, slumping into her seat, not recognising the farewell Moira gave or the sound of her departure, for she was too focused on the memories playing in her mind.  

 

~*~*~ 

 

I thanked the elderly man for the keys and walked into my new apartment. It was slightly on the older age, but still sturdy and comfortable despite the weather on the walls. It was a little out of the city, nearer to the outskirts, with flowering trees lining the pavements. My room was a lot smaller than the dorm room I had in the bureau, but it gave me a sense of control and freedom as I looked at the white walls, the wooden frame of the hard bed, and the similar hard wood furnishings around the place. It was perfect, at least it was for the next month before I leave.  

Dropping my bag on the round table, I tugged the scarf away from my neck as I slowly made my way to the large window. I felt no pain except for the malfunctioning of my cyborg self. I was limping, the left leg heavier than my right and it would creak as it bent at the knee. I pulled it up and straightened it on to the wide ledge by the windowsill, leaving my other leg dangling down as I rested my chin on the crook of my elbow, watching the people go about in their daily lives. They were laughing and smiling leisurely, unlike the lowered heads of those busy bustling in the city. Pink flower petals rustled and drifted down, painting the grey pavements a bright colour. It reminded me of the time when Sakura blossoms would bloom in Hanamura and I’d watch people pass just like this. Simple and carefree. And that’s when I caught sight of my own reflection against the glass, the dark black hair hanging limply against my forehead, locks having grown longer. My eyes traced the scars on my face like they’ve done so many times before, yet I felt at peace. At peace with the scars, at peace with my choices. It wouldn’t be long now.  

All there’s left was dinner. 

I sat there, remembering the memories that she and I shared in the past weeks, a tender smile floating on my lips. Even when there was the pitter and patter of rain against my window, my eyes closed for favour of basking itself in Nature’s orchestra. Soft and rhythmic, battering against the glass, and I descended into darkness at the gentle lull of sleep, one where I was free from the jeering and murmured insults behind my back, one where I felt safe.  

 

~*~*~ 

 

But his rest wasn’t long at all, because on the fourth day after settling in, his left leg was acting up; It refused to bend and move according to his wishes, lying straight as a rod, as dead as any metal could be. Heavy pants heaved his chest to rise and fall, fingers tightly gripping the metal thigh as desperation silently screamed in his scarred countenance. Move, just move, damn it! There was a panic in his eyes when the mere feeling of his leg faded, as though the leg became simply what it was before: A dead metal. Fuck, fuck, fuck. No! His fingers clawed into the dead thigh, unwilling to accept the sheer hopelessness of the situation, and in a fit of despair, I started beating at my leg, pounding at it with my fists in hope that it’ll move. Just fucking move! I should have known that my light was frail, that my hope was nothing but a fleeting moment, a wistful thinking. The deep darkness swallowed me whole, diminishing all the happiness and bliss of all that I looked forward to. I cried in anguish while wrapping my hands around the thigh from where flesh met metal, the vision blurring in my eyes as a layer of wetness appeared on the surface.  

Why? Why now! 

Another howl was ripped from my throat and I laid down in defeat on my thigh, my sweaty forehead coming into contact with it.  

Please. Why?  

Couldn’t you have lasted another month? 

Fuuuck!  

Roaring out in unwilling rage, I harshly brought my fist back down onto the thigh, slamming it with every ounce of power that I could muster. The moment my fist pounded onto the limb, there was an instant jerk and a painful shock electrifying my senses that made me wince and cry out in pain. A relieved, wet smile broke out on my face when I felt the tingling sensation running along the limb.  

Oh, God. Fucking hell. Fuck. 

I grunted, willing my leg to move. It twitched, sending sparks of joy off in me. Any movement was better than none, right? I kneaded at my thigh, urging for the blood to flow in the flesh, hoping that it would stimulate it to function. A deep breath in and I tried again, but the more I pushed, the more it felt like I was trying to move a hundred-year old tree trunk. It inched bit by bit towards the edge of the bed, toes wiggling in between – A desperate grasp onto hope if you will.  

A dull thump echoed in the silent room when the foot dropped onto the floor, leaving only the sounds of my heavy breathing. Sweat oozed out from my every pore, jet black hair clinging onto my face, feeling like the battlefield was already half won. Pushing off the bed, I grimaced as my arm creaked under the pressure and got to my feet. The room tilted and swayed, and I quickly steadied my staggering feet. A foot lifted, toes tapping on the floorboards, and I was elated at the sensation of touch. Breathing out the stress bubbling in my stomach, I combed my hair back with a hand, preparing myself for a very long day.  

 

~*~*~ 

 

When the night came, I had somehow gotten my leg to manage walking around like a normal human, and not lug around like a headless zombie. Dropping onto the chair, I stared proud yet pained at my leg, and then my hands. How nice would it have been if I was human? Then I could go see a doctor for _any_ pain that I would have and I could cure with just the simplest medicine or physiotherapy, but no. I had to suffer at the hands of my older brother, turned into a machine for the use of others, and when I thought fate had been kind enough with giving me her presence in my life, allowing me to see the light in the dark, it equally ripped it away and now I’m left with a broken body that no one could possibly fix.  

“Haha... That’s just how it is. My life’s not mine to live for.”  

My soul had been battered and bruised, scarred and cut, leaving behind just a graveyard of buried hopes.  

But at least I’ll spend the last of it with her, and then I’ll gladly dissolve away into just being her memories.  

A deep rumble echoed from the depths of my empty stomach as a laughter burst from my chest. Before that, food! As I stood up, proud that I didn’t stumble or fall, I dove for my phone on the bed, only to jump in fright when the device suddenly vibrated and rang.  

 _‘Some agent I am_ ,’ I chuckled lowly, bringing the phone up to my ear after accepting the call. “Hello? Genji speaking.” 

 _“Genji, it’s Gabriel.”_  

Subconsciously, I straightened my back and levelled my tone as I gave him my greetings. 

 _“There’s no time for that right now. I know you’re no longer an agent, but I have a request to make. Is there a way for us to meet?”_  

I frowned at the severity in his voice. “Alright, I’ll meet you at the office.” 

 _“No. Not there. It’s not safe here. We need to meet somewhere else.”_  

My frown deepened while I sat up properly atop the bed. There was of course another option to meet up at, plenty actually, but for those that were actually _safe?_   Those were far few and between. Eyes glanced around the quaint little room, teeth gritting in uncertainty. Should I offer up the one place of a sanctuary that I’ve managed to find? One where my frantic heart could calm at, where I wouldn’t be judged endlessly?  

I really wanted to say no, that I’ve changed my mind. Besides, it wouldn’t be unreasonable of me, right? I did, after all, decide to leave behind the battlefield of shattered dreams and dark hopes. But this was _Gabriel_ that we were talking about, the one man that, grumpily and secretly happy (I’m sure), took me in despite the war machine I was created into, gave me a place like home that – _Sigh._  

 _“Genji?”_  

“Meet me at my place. I’ll send you the address.” 

I couldn’t regret it even if I wanted to now. 

 

~*~*~ 

 

A series of raps sounded on the door and my head whipped up to stare at it unhappily with the noodles in my mouth. Slurping the rest of it down, I stood up while a resigned sigh escaped.  

I came face to face with Gabriel’s haggard appearance upon unlocking the door, which brought forth a wave of confusion as it was a sight rarely seen on the man. He stepped into the room while the scent of food assaulted his nose, waking him just ever so slightly. Tired eyes scanned the minimal possessions that littered the place, before falling upon the unfinished cup of instant noodles by the table. 

Apologetically, he turned towards me when I walked past him and back to my dinner. “I’m sorry for disturbing you, Genji.”  

“It’s alright. What happened?” I fought the urge to squirm under his watchful gaze. Had he noticed? Of slowing steps and ragged movements?  

“It’s Jack.”  

I paused mid-action, the slightly warm noodles caressing my open lips that curved into a frown. Jack. It’s Jack again. Exhaling the rising anger with a deep breath, I reluctantly put my food down when the atmosphere grew tense and breathing was a little hard. 

Gabriel took my stare and silence as a sign to continue. “On the day you resigned, Jack took it upon himself to complete a mission that was initially put aside for you.” 

“What kind of mission?” 

“An infiltration mission. Recent intel reports gathered that the real Slade is the real owner behind the Lumiere corporation that owns majority of the high-end hotels.” 

I nodded, indicating that I was following along in understanding the situation. With that much power and money, he could easily build up another underground drug ring, and with that kind of potential customer base, he could easily gain more profits. The only thing I couldn’t fathom was: “Why make the corpse poison then?”  

Gabriel bitterly laughed. “That... is probably related to us. We have reasons to believe that that poison was concocted to be used on us, the “scum of the earth” as Slade put not-so-subtly.”  

“Us? What did we do?”  

“Remember Blackwatch?” Gabriel sighed as he dropped onto the chair. “With the stories of assassination, coercion, kidnapping, torture, and others that went around, he was one of those extremists that believed Overwatch was a façade put up for our real identity: Blackwatch.” 

My lips tugged downwards at the distant memory. Blackwatch _had_ been created and it was present at some point, but it was not exactly those rumours made it out to be. It was, to put it simply, the ones that did the dirty work for Overwatch, as the latter was made to maintain peace and fight against terrorism. It had to show up a ‘good’ front to the public, but there were scuffles that couldn’t be done in a ‘nice guy’ way, if you knew what I mean.  

“So, the mission was to infiltrate the company and take him out, and if possible, to destroy all sources of the corpse poison,” Gabriel finished with a dejected sigh.  

And I could see why it was originally left aside for me until I recovered. No one was stealthier than I was. This was easy for a ninja after all. I looked at Gabriel’s slumped form. Sure, I now understood the bigger picture, but something still nagged at me. Infiltration missions were fairly normal and we got them sometimes while at the bureau, but why the extreme secrecy? There shouldn’t be a reason that we couldn’t have met at the bureau, unless...  

Gabriel watched grimly as the realisation dawned upon my face. I returned it with a wide-eyed stare full of shock. Mouth slightly agape, fingers trembling.  

Unless, there was a mole. 

There must be something or someone that he was trying to avoid, a factor that could potentially jeopardise the entire mission that Jack was on, one that could endanger his life. Which could then explain how every Overwatch member was sent an envelope with the dinner party at Lumiere Hotel because I was pretty damn certain that our information was confidential (the invitation was a dead giveaway that it was a trap anyway).  

Gabriel nodded in agreement, as though he could hear my thoughts just from my changing expression alone. The man probably could. “We’ve already suspected that there was a mole in the bureau from the moment we received the envelope, but didn’t think they’d make another move so fast. Jack’s mission has already been compromised.”  

“What?” 

“We’ve already lost contact with him for,” he glanced at his watched with pursed lips, “by now, 13 hours. He was supposed to check in with us over an hour ago.”  

My expression was scrunched up as logic was playing in my mind. The lack of communication itself shouldn’t indicate a compromised mission, especially not if it’s only been less than 24 hours. The situation might have changed where Jack _could not_ check in with the team, an occurrence that happened fairly often.  

The rustling of clothes caught my attention and I watched curiously as Gabriel slipped a hand into his trench coat, revealing a wrinkled white envelope that was lined with plastic from the sound of crinkles. He pushed it across the table and I took it into my hands, breath turning sharp and expression going grim at the chopped off phalanges. It seemed freshly cut as the blood still looked red and bright, with a little block of white from the bone sticking out at the end, and from the looks of it, it seemed to be Jack’s little finger.  

“This was sent an hour ago.”  

They’ve already got him, was what Gabriel didn’t say. Closing the envelope, I looked up to face him in the eye. “And you want me to go and save him?”  

Gabriel closed his eyes, face tight and lips straight. When I saw the dark gaze hidden beneath the eyelids, the light in them had dimmed. “Please? Could you?” 

“And at the same time, finish the mission,” I finished flatly. Holding my hand out, he dropped the USB flash drive fished out of his pocket, but before he dropped it into my palm, he turned to me seriously. 

“Are you sure that you’ll do this? You need to understand that you’ll be doing this as a hired assassin, rather than someone from within the bureau.” 

“And if I get into trouble, you and the bureau will pretend to not know me at all. My files will be wiped. I understand.” 

“Then why do this? You don’t have to.”  

I could only give him a wry smile. “I don’t. But I want to.” 

Gabriel sighed, feeling the heavy guilt weighing hard on his mind, and finally dropped the USB flash drive into my hand. “Have access to a computer?” 

“My phone should work.”  

The chair scrapped along the floor when Gabriel got to his feet. I followed suit.  

“Thank you, for doing this, Genji.” His voice sounded weary, vulnerable even.  

“It’s not a worry, Gabriel. The least I could do for you.” I’m sure he caught onto the specific words in my sentence but he smiled it off.  

“Good luck.” 

With the door now locked, I went back to my bed, pulling open the drawer by its side as I searched for a certain device. It was a small and black little connector that would connect his phone to the USB flash drive Gabriel left, and it wasn’t until he was about to insert the flash drive that his phone lit up with a new short message.  

 _Angela: Hey, are you asleep?_  

I vaguely sensed the outlines of the phone in my fingers from gripping it tighter and tighter. I wanted to so badly reply that _no, I’m not._ And hopefully hear her voice, a sweet melodious tune dancing, with lips curved and soul at peace, but no. I couldn’t. It was enchanting, so much so that once I was drawn in, I fear I wouldn’t leave and if I didn’t, then the mission wouldn’t be completed and Jack. Jack would die.  

He’d die.  

Not like he was ever my problem.  

My thumb tapped and held against the glass screen, forcing it to stay lit as I stared at the words. Not daring to unlock it, afraid I’d be shown online for that brief passing in the messaging app, I dropped my tense shoulders and my hands onto the bed. 

Yes, I hadn’t wanted to leave. Staying and visiting her would be my priority for my remaining days here, tasting her food and drinking her coffee, and when the day was right, I’d bring her out for dinner. Not a day too late, but not a day too early either. A dangerous balance to tease, for the former would be risking it against my injuries and already failing limbs, but the latter would make me wish for more, want more, _and that was dangerous_. Having any desires was a hindrance to my already decided plans; I wouldn’t dare leave when I had to, I wouldn’t want to leave _her_.  

A heavy feeling had settled in my gut when I chose swipe her message aside and to plug in the USB flash drive, choosing to accept and allow the device permission in my phone, _and also choosing to ignore her_.  

Because it was one thing to live in blissful ignorance. Being with her would most definitely be the wasabi to my soy sauce and I _know_ I would find joy in her presence, but choosing so would forsake Jack, and in turn, _forsake knowing why Jack did what he did_.  

I’m not out to seek comfort for his actions, not out to satisfy my humanly urges at wanting to know why. Seeking the truth was seeking liberation.  

It only took a couple of seconds for the phone to load everything that was in the USB flash drive and the icon of one folder appeared, so lonesome yet so frighteningly dreadful. And one tap on that folder sealed away any other wistful thoughts that I so endearingly held in this fleeting four days of freedom.  

 

~*~*~ 

 

She blew at the long bangs before her eyes away exasperatedly with a huff. Her blonde locks were getting a little long now, the front bangs already reaching below her chin even with a slight wave. Groaning, she combed her hair with her fingers, bringing all of them up into a high ponytail and tying it tight with the hair tie she held between her lips.  

Fishing out her phone from her pocket, she stared at the time and grunted unhappily. With a small scowl and her phone stuffed back into the pocket, she turned around and left the kitchen to smile at any customers by the counter.  

It’s been four weeks since she last heard from Genji. Not a peep. Not a word.  

Her messages had been sending through at first, measured by the double ticks that appeared, but they’ve never been replied to, and his last seen was also a month ago. At first, it was worry and concern on her part when she didn’t hear a word from him, that something was wrong and something might have happened, but yesterday, on her day off, with her recovering memories, she took it upon herself to visit the one building she hadn’t been to in nearly six months: The Intelligence Bureau.  

The building was still grand, tall and wide in cream coloured walls and a dusty red roof. Tall evergreen trees on either side of the entrance and its steps lined up its perimeter. She remembered the nervousness she felt, staring up at such a place. Cladded in her long coat, standing in the late summer wind, she stood there by the entrance as waves and waves of memories flashed by, though some sweet, mostly were bitter.  

 

“Hi, welcome! What can I do for you today?” Angela asked a new customer as they approached the counter.  

“Could I have the caramel slice cake, please? Takeaway.” 

“Sure thing.”  

Angela brought out the caramel slice cake and wished her goodbye, and reminisced.  

 

It wasn’t until she saw the first person to exit the building, a familiar face indeed, that she snapped out of her thoughts. Tall and dark skinned, a chiselled jaw even more charming with the short stubble that he was sporting, and hands stuffed in the large pockets of his coat. Equally dark eyes widened in surprise upon catching sight of the blonde café owner. 

“Angela?” 

She managed a small smile at the old acquaintance. “Hi, Gabriel.” 

They had a small talk over lunch, catching up and sorting out any confusion that had bloomed. It was only when she touched upon the topic of Genji that the older man stiffened. 

“Genji... he’s on a mission.” Gabriel managed to utter as he set his drink down.  

With tight brows and a frown, she asked, “Didn’t he retire from the job?”  

And with a resigned sigh, he began to fill her in on the gaps, of how he requested Genji’s assistance, of Jack’s predicament and of the mole in the bureau. He watched her displeasure darken, only to crumble into shock.  

“Do you have the details on the missions?” she had asked. 

Gabriel’s lips had parted before he closed them again and took a gulp of his drink. “You know I can’t hand out the information. It’s confidential. And you’re no longer a member of the bureau.” 

Angela scoffed, averting her eyes from his when she opted to gulp down her annoyance with her tea. “And neither was Genji.” 

Gabriel refused her again, but she was persistent, stubborn once her mind was set to it. Following him back to the bureau, he was helpless against her and they tacitly agreed to ignore the weird looks colleagues and ex-colleagues alike gave. Murmured whispers floated into their ears, like incessant chatter of rats in a corn field.  

And like before, back to a little under six months ago, Angela ignored them all. She never paid any of them a single heed then, and she still wouldn’t now. 

Gabriel’s hand hovered above the doorknob to his office in mid-action of unlocking it just as her voice sounded behind him. “Is Jack’s office open?”  

“No,” his eyebrows were tightly knitted. What had she wanted now?  

“Do you have the keys?” 

Lifting his own set of keys, he turned to look at her with a serious expression. “I do, but why?” No matter what, she was still someone he trusted his life with, a bond forged through the blood, gore and guts of their enemies.  

“Are my things in his room?” It was a mere guess, but she had a gut feeling that the things they moved out from her office would naturally be in his. 

“It... is. Come.” 

And she obediently, wordlessly followed Gabriel to the office a few doors down from his, unlocking it with a resounding click. Stepping into the room, she noted the small layer of dust that covered the place. Neatly stacked papers sat at the side of his table with the desktop computer switched off. A couch and a coffee table in a corner of the room, a bookshelf with some books and files, and there, on the spot behind his table, were boxes arranged nicely. Boxes filled with her things. Her steps were resolute and Gabriel didn’t have the heart to stop her as he watched from the door. Beside those boxes filled with her research and papers, was a fairly large briefcase made of black leather. It was twice the size of the boxes, spanning a little over half a meter long, but she picked it up with ease.  

When he saw her pick it up, he sighed sadly in his heart. There was no turning back now. Angela wouldn’t take no for an answer.  

As she heaved herself up, an odd little object caught her attention from the corner of her eyes. Bending down, she rubbed away at the collected dust using her thumb, exposing the red velvet surface of the box smaller than her palm. She fiddled with it, wiggling her thumb by the crack and forcing it open with a nail, only to abruptly clasp it shut when a heavy memory speared through her mind without warning.  

“Agh!”  

Grimacing at the mere pain, her hand holding the box flew up to her head while Gabriel shot forward to steady her staggering steps. A short memory she recognised, _now complete,_ when the remaining cracks pieced themselves together like a puzzle. She saw flowers – _snapdragons_ – and smelled a fruity smell – _orange juice_ – and somehow, she saw familiar silhouettes.  

A dark haired man and a blond one. 

The last memory. 

When the pain receded, she reassured Gabriel that everything was alright.  

He didn’t voice his concerns but something in her eyes shook his very core. Bright, vivid blue eyes stared dead into his, the spark dim. 

When he entered his office with a heavy heart, he gave her what she wanted: access to the mission details. No hardcopy, no softcopy. Just read it off the computer.  

Because she was going in as a rogue, someone unaffiliated with the bureau. It was a little different from Genji’s situation as he was still technically hired, but Angela? She was going in herself. For herself.  

And he couldn’t stop her no matter what or how he tried.  

 

“That’s the last for today. Finally,” Mei cried out as she stretched her back, feeling a few pops along her spine. “Such a long day today.”  

“Yeah, it was,” Angela absentmindedly nodded.  

Mei turned towards her with a frown, dropping her arms to the side and flipped the open sign to close. “What’s wrong? You’ve been out of it today.” 

“It’s... nothing.” Memories were a funny thing, having both good and bad. Without them, she was lost and confused, yet she had to endure silently the humiliation and pain as though nothing was wrong. “When do you leave for your trip to the Arctic?” 

“I was planning to go in a month, so I’m thinking to quit after two weeks.” Mei didn’t comment on Angela’s sudden change in topics, believing that her friend would tell her when she wanted.  

A thoughtful hum from said friend. “I will be gone in the next two weeks. An emergency came up. I was hoping you’d watch over the café for me.”  

A series of impatient knocks cut off Mei’s words as a both ladies turned to the glass door. Scowling behind the glass was Junkrat with two ice creams in his hands, foot tapping on the ground and back slouched. Mei gave Angela an apologetic look and she repeated ‘sorry’ three times as she picked up her bag and rushed towards the door.  

“I’ll take care of the café for the time you’re going! Good night, Angela!” 

“Good -” the café owner smiled helplessly when the Asian woman had already dashed out of the doors, grabbing the strawberry and cream ice cream just as the door swung shut, “...night.” 

When the last of her employees had left for the night and she locked the door behind her, she went home. The summer sunset was warm, but underneath its glow were clouds tinged with dangerous foreboding. People on the sidewalk subconsciously avoided the expressionless blonde, chattering while they walked away. Shadows casted over her face while a deep rumble growled among the clouds. Voices grew louder, higher pitched at the first drop of rain and the women shrieked when the following downpour fell, but not Angela. Soaked to the bone with clothes getting heavier, she padded across the sidewalk silently without complaints, unbothered to remove even her convenient carry-on umbrella.  

Dark coloured patches discoloured the tiled flooring, leading up to her apartment door. The sounds of water sloshing echoed in the empty hallway.  

Click.  

Click. 

And the door shut behind her.  

A blinding white light flashed, lighting up her shadowed features. Like yesterday, the radiance in her eyes had dimmed, but what Gabriel couldn’t catch from the glimpse was the burning desire, one to save the men.  

Men needed to be saved sometimes too, just sometimes by a woman.  

 

~*~*~ 

 

Just prior...  

In the dead of the night, a soft caress of the wind mercilessly plucked a few flowers off the trees, bringing them for a dance before selfishly dropping them onto the grassy grounds of the garden and drifting off again. I relished in the cool air upon my face and exposed skin. Stripped from my usual full body suit, I reverted back to something more minimal, but only because the outer shell of my suit had begun crumbling. I flexed my left arm, gripping at nothing but the dancing breeze skating across my bare arm and I couldn’t help the smile that flitted across my lips. My mask was swapped in favour of the old one as well, one that covered my head but retained a gap for my eyes, unlike the green visor that my latest suit had.  

A couple of voices wafted in the air and I immediately slunk back into the shadows of the leafy tree I was lying in, careful to mask any rustling alongside the wind’s path. With thick stems and lush green leaves, it served as the perfect cover for the night.  

I had been staking out the building for over the past three weeks, observing and watching the patterns of those going in and out, and those already inside. Not once in these three weeks that I’ve been here did I see hide nor hair of either Slade or Jack, though I was suspicious (and pretty confident) that the latter might be kept in a place more inconspicuous. The Lumiere Corporation’s headquarters kept a tight security of those that went in and out, requiring a key card and a body scan through the doors. The body scan I’m not too worried about, but the key card...  

The couple walked into the garden, giggling and chuckling. I went on alert when I clearly saw _who_ walked in. Katy Campbell and Shawn Duncan, two of the more senior personnel in the company.  

Katy looked up at the darkening clouds with a frown. “It looks like it’s about to rain.” She let out a surprised shriek when Shawn snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her close. 

“But we just only got on our break,” he grinned at her flushing cheeks.  

“Hey! We’re outside,” she chided him when his palm went a lot lower than her waist. “And it’s going to rain soon.” 

“No one can see us. Everyone’s too busy with the Chairman’s meeting. And it won’t rain yet.” Shawn pulled her closer to his chest and dipped his head to capture her lips in his, when a black silhouette crashed into the two of them.  

“What the fuck!” Shawn swore at the shadow as he pushed himself to a stand, pissed at being disturbed just as he was getting to the good part.  

“H-How did that thing get in here?” 

A growl rumbled from the dog’s throat and the couple jumped in fright. They paled at the bare fangs and hurriedly scrambled to their feet. In their distress, they failed to notice the black shadow that had been standing behind them, equally failing to note that the dog’s attention wasn’t on them all along.  

I tucked the key card away in my pocket and snarled at the dog, giving it only a silent apology for mistreating it. The poor canine yelped at the pair of crimson eyes gleaming in the dark and backpedalled in fear, crying inwardly at how victimised it was before running away. 

 _Dog: I’m innocent! I was thrown here by that man!_  

I leapt away from my spot as lights flooded the garden and the couple from earlier returned with security. Grabbing onto the drain pipes, I swiftly scaled up the wall just as Katy cried out: “There was a dog in here!”  

The frantic shrieking and confusion gradually died down as I scaled higher and higher. Under the cover of the stormy clouds, I easily made my way to the rooftop undetected. Mentally, I brought up the blueprint designs of the building once I reached the top and quickly traced the path I had long prepared. With a quick swipe of the key card, I broke open the door leading to the roof and was immediately greeted with the long staircase spiralling down.  

After three long weeks of scouting and a hell lot more waiting, it was finally time to make my move. Even though it was partially thanks to Shawn for the extra information.  

Without batting an eyelid, I grabbed onto the railing and effortlessly swung myself over, allowing myself to begin the freefall down the sixty-storey building. Wind rushed past my face, bringing a stinging chill upon it. My expression remained unfazed at the possible death. The Chairman’s room was on the twentieth floor and with the meeting that they were having, most, if not all, of the board members were conveniently all in the same room.  

55... 

50... 

I counted down the floors as I free-fell, but upon gaining too much speed, I bent my knees and braced myself. Lightly tapping on the railings with my toes, I winced at the slight forceful change in the inertia shocking my nerves, but nevertheless bearable as the impact spread across my limbs and minimised the internal damage it could have done. I flexed my muscles, testing for any irreversible damages, but found none. For now, my body seemed to _want_ to hold up. Once back on my toes, I tipped myself over the edge and fell once more.  

Time was clicking on the clock as I was sure by now that the surveillance team had noticed an anomaly, _an intruder_ , in their midst.  

45... 

40... 

I slowed my descent again. 

When I approached the thirty first floor, the corresponding door was slammed open as a team of men rushed into the already narrow emergency escape stairway. Seeing the firearms in their possession, I pulled out my wakizashi, skilfully deflecting a few bullets back at them and tilted my body so that I landed on the railing.  

 _Clink! Clink!_  

Easily hopping over the bullets, I dashed across the railing and brought my blade down towards the men, scoring first blood. Landing in a crouch, I sidestepped and palmed the knife-wielding arm away from inside, the blade spearing past my face. I brought my other hand up, the wakizashi firmly gripped within and pushed at the arm in the opposite direction. And I twisted.  

“Ahhh!”  

I smirked at the resounding, satisfying _crack._  

The man dropped to his knees and cried out in pain at the breaking of his bones, while I ducked simultaneously, causing the punch to fly overhead.  

With muscles tensed, the strength in my calves exploded as I leapt up and spun around, landing a solid turning kick at my attacker and sending him barrelling towards the men behind him.  

And you’d think they’d know _not_ to crowd a small space. 

With the small bubble that I created, I flipped my wakizashi around and darted forward, slicing at every man in the immediate vicinity. Crimson drops sprayed out of their necks like a broken fountain, splattering around the greyed white walls, painting an abstract art on the plain canvas.  

And everything only took roughly four minutes.  

When the last man was disposed, I pulled my arm back and held onto the railing before backflipping, and fell. Unlike before, I jumped off the edges, accelerating down the floors with ease and control now that there were only eleven floors left. On the way down, any enemy that appeared from the doors were met with my blade and shuriken instead, silently dropping dead by the same doors they opened.  

And it didn’t take long for me to reach the meeting room where all the higher ups were gathered. Disregarding the fact that it was too quiet, I charged right through the thick wooden doors with my katana as splinters bounded off my mask. I raised my blade in preparation to strike, yet all I saw was Slade’s smug smirk from the other end of the long room.  

They couldn’t have evacuated in less than ten minutes, could they?  

Irrespective of that, three shurikens flew with a flick of my wrist and I rushed forth with my blade back in its sheath, hand at ready on the hilt. A green halation began to pulse around the sword as I stirred the power lying dormant in my blood. Slade easily dodged the flying projectiles, but I was already near.  

“ _Ryūjin –”_  

“No! Stop!” 

My body reflexively halted at the voice, so sweet and bewitching, yet so confusing. Distracted at the familiar voice, I failed to see the gun that Slade pulled out from behind, failed to catch the signs before I could move. All because I was wondering why, of all places, would I hear _her_ voice here? Why would she be _here_? Until the grim realisation dawned that she _wasn’t._ That all I heard was a recording that sounded awfully close to her voice. 

That I should have protected myself against this tactic was a slight mistake on my part. Because why would Angela even be here at all?  

“Argh!” 

My body jerked when the bullet landed at close range, deeply lodging itself into my left shoulder. Growling at the infuriating smirk, I lunged forward with great difficulty while calling upon the dragon once more. The halation of my blade coloured the room with a green shine as it was unsheathed from its abode.  

 _“Ryūjin no ken wo kurae!”_  

I couldn’t think. I _didn’t_ want to think. And I sure as hell didn’t want to know why my blade felt the slightest of resistance as it sliced through Slade.  

I just wanted this done and over with.  

His maniacal cackles echoed in my ears even after my blade tore through his body in half. Wide amused eyes stared blankly up at me and I was further infuriated at the crescent shaped grin that split his face that I stabbed mercilessly at the skull with all the rage I could muster and flicked it aside. How dare he use her like that? How dare he get under my skin with the one reverse scale that I had?  

Steadying my emotions, I exhaled all my irritation. Now’s not the time for this.  

I scanned the room, a nagging feeling gnawing at my senses.  

Slade wouldn’t be here alone unless there was a damn good reason for it. And the missing board members were highly suspicious as well. Running through the blueprints in my head, I stared at the meeting room and roughly estimated its diameter.  

The dimensions did not match up.  

While the power was still channelling itself through my sword, I took a gamble and swung. The walls crumbled like tofu under my strength and instantaneously, I was assaulted with the smell of blood.  

 

~*~*~ 

 

 _You have to understand that damaged women are the most dangerous kind._  

 _Not for any other reason but of already knowing they can survive._  

 

She followed the smell of blood, a scent she couldn’t be more familiar with. Crimson liquid painted the walls and floors in the metallic tang of blood. Dead bodies littered atop each other like piles of thrown out rubbish.  

She continued making her way down.  

Judging from the rigor mortis and paleness of the bodies, they were dead only recently, which to her, meant that Genji had begun his mission not long before she arrived.  

Cladded in armor of blue and white, she hurriedly followed the trail, unperturbed by the sight of gore surrounding her. She came upon a pair of broken large doors. 

 

 _Women are resilient. You may abuse them, break them, **destroy** them, but the strong ones will survive. _ 

 _And when they do, you will wish your mother gave you another pair of legs._  

 

Rushing into the meeting room, the place was oddly clean except for the two halves of a man that was left on the carpeted floor, a hole pierced through his skull. Even she shuddered at the sight. Further down was a large gaping hole, a secret room. Cold air blasted at her face when she neared, and bringing with it the scent of warm fresh blood. Underneath the tips of her toes was a vibration she couldn’t pinpoint. Like the early signs of an earthquake.  

In a panic, she rushed headlong into danger.  

 

~*~*~ 

 

“Damnit, Jack. Can’t you fucking move!” I snarled at the blond man in my arms, desperation clinging onto him and my words. A fog of mist temporarily hindered my vision as the hot breath chilled in the room. Jack had been beaten black and blue, bruised and battered like a punching bag, but even sandbags looked better than he did at the moment.  

“Urgh...” my ex-commander groaned as he tried to stand, but the broken limbs anchored him down heavier than the Earth’s gravity. “Just leave me. Why did you come and save me?” 

I’ll admit, my heart ached at the depressed tone of his voice. Lifeless. Hopeless. But damn him to hell if I was leaving without him! Bending down, I scooped the man up into my arms, disregarding the warts that were beginning to form on his face and skin, and pushed to a stand. Behind me was a large machine gurgling and violently shaking, the force enough to make even the ground quiver.  

I took a step forward, the ground splashing beneath it. Pools and pools of blood covered the place. The walls were made of metal and bolts, and the temperature was set well below zero degrees.  

I didn’t know why. And I don’t want to know why. 

When I had dashed into the secret room, I found the remaining board members surrounding Jack like coyotes, whipping and slicing at his skin in sheer madness. The gas masks they wore were indicators enough that this room was exactly the source.  

“W-Why are you even saving me... Just leave!” Jack groaned louder as I dragged his body with a limp across the dead bodies.  

My left leg was acting up once more, choosing the best time to malfunction as I couldn’t even bend it now. The bullet still lodged in my shoulder caused great pain when I moved my arm, but I had to hold on. I had to. 

“I can’t just leave you here!” I bit back harshly.  

Shrill screams were erupting from the machine behind us. Fuck, why was the secret room so long!  

“We’re not going to make it...”  

“Shut the fuck up. We’re going to leave here. Alive!” 

“N-No, Genji. Stop.” Jack gripped onto my arm with a hand. A last attempt. A last breath. “You deserve to know why I did what I did.” Jack cut me off with a stern look, one that I still reflexively clammed up patiently. “A little under six months ago, Angela had an accident in her apartment.” I knew that one. “I found her lying there on the floor and had her sent to the hospital. It was then that when she woke up from the short coma that she had forgotten her memories. It was painful, but I was also glad. Because I didn’t want her to suffer.” 

My eyebrows shot up in confusion. 

“You may not know this but she was ostracized while she was in the bureau.” Jack wheezed in a sharp breath as I fought to take another step forward. “Fellow colleagues were stabbing her in the back and dehumanising her.” 

“Why?” I bit out through gritted teeth. 

“Because of you.” I froze in place, pausing in my steps and turning my head slowly to stare at the half-dead man. He managed a bitter smile. “I didn’t want you to know because it’s _not_ your fault. They spoke badly of her behind her back because she saved you, because she created a monster, quote unquote, like you.” He shook his head. “And when the two of you were seen together, it made everything worse. I tried to stop it. I tried to protect the two of you. But things kept getting out of hand. They simply refused to accept someone like you or her.”  

I watched, literally watched, as the life in his eyes dimmed. Blood began to flow from his orifices as warts began to break out faster on his skin.  

“And when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, she wanted to propose to you.”  

“Propose!?” 

That was the only word I could get out when the machine behind us exploded, blasting us through the air and across the room. I vaguely heard a scream, as though someone was calling my name, but I couldn’t tell with the ringing in my ears before Jack and I ate the blood on the ground.  

Everything was still for a while, when Jack’s lifeless voice floated over. 

“Part of me was selfish. When she lost her memory, I wished it stayed that way. Then at least I’ll have a chance of loving her too.” 

No, no, no. Stop talking. I’ll get us out of here.  

I felt his grip on me slacken as I tried to orientate myself right, but my head was still ringing and my back was burning. Probably from the poison. Maybe I shouldn’t have jammed the thing shut and cut off the supply.  

“Just leave, Genji. Go.” 

I got onto shaky feet and fought to stand upright on the quaking ground, one hand stubbornly clinging onto Jack’s sleeve and mustering all the willpower it took to not pass out from pain. “No. We’re leaving t-together.”  

Heavy pants. Screaming muscles.  

I pushed against the ground with my left foot, a little too much as I slipped and fell face first onto the blood puddle. I cried out in pain with a crack of my foot, bent back too much sideways, just like it was back in the hospital.  

No no no – We're not dying here. _Noo!_  

“And this whole mess? Started with me anyway,” Jack mumbled under his breath as he felt the darkness gradually closing in. The vibration was numb against his fingertips, the blood tasteless. “Slade was someone like you, a cyborg. Only thing was that he was incomplete. He wished he had someone like Angela to save him, but Overwatch turned him down when he asked for our help. He wouldn’t have started this whole crusade… I should have said yes... I should have said y-ye...s… ” 

I pushed up against the floor, gripping onto a motionless Jack with all my might. If only I was better, stronger, then I could get us both out of here. The ground began to shake even harder, the puddles rippling faster and more. Oh, Kami-sama. Please.  

 

~*~*~ 

 

 _There is something about two people who find each other time and time again. No matter what situation they end up in, or how far apart they are – They come back to each other._  

 

 _Genji..._  

Genji... 

“Genji!” Angela screamed on top of her lungs when she spotted the man before her. In a swift glide towards him, she cradled his face in her arms, ignoring the blood that soaked the gloves. Dark crimson covered his scarred – _beautiful_ – face, mixed with tears and snot. His eyes were glazed over until realisation rubbed at them.  

Angela. It was Angela Ziegler. _Doctor_ Angela Zielger, fully decked out in her combat medic uniform.  

I lifted a shaky hand to gently caress her cheek, surprise and disbelief shocking my system. If this was a dream, then I never wanted to wake up.  

Oh, how I wish I could tell her how much I love her. That I’m sorry I left without saying goodbye. That I’m sorry I couldn’t spend the rest of my time with her.  

This was the end for me. And Jack.  

Oh, Angela... Please forgive me.  

 

“There’s nothing to forgive, you idiot,” she cried out in desperation, but her hands were already moving faster than her words.  

She prayed she was _also_ at least quicker than the explosion. The rumbles were getting stronger and a crack split the ground from where the machine was. The Caduceus Staff lit up with a warm yellow glow as the mechanical wings on her back unfurled. She could feel it rush through her blood, the same familiar power that she wielded all those months ago. At its peak, she felt the holy power surge like a rising tide, spreading out towards her wings and into her palms. 

A phrase, all so familiar yet foreign rolled off her tongue, as the power rushed towards the men in one swift gust. “ _Helden sterben nicht!_ ” 

_Heroes never die!_

 

~*~*~ 

 

I suppose, you do remember that I would have married her if not for Jack Morrison, right?  

Without him hiding her away, keeping secrets, then yeah, I _was_ supposed to get married to Angela Ziegler. Although I never knew we were dating, according to her, we already were. All those times we spent together eating dinner, drinking coffee, chatting by the window – Just us two? We had already been dating since the very first dinner I took her out (for constantly saving my life). We didn't need to put a label on it. So, by technicality, we were already dating for _years_.  

Now I just feel dumb for wanting to ask her out. (She’d disagree, of course. Saying she found it cute.) 

Which she did, again, by the way. Saving my life. She single-handedly saved Jack and I from disaster, _and single-handedly killed anyone that got in her way._ The woman’s aim was pretty damn good, probably third to Ana and Jesse if I may say so. I heard from her later that she did find the mole, one of the few doctors that led the party against her. She found him on route to escape. Nevertheless, he wouldn’t be a mole for anyone else. Anymore.

In the end, I did kill Jack, if you think about it. If I was better, stronger, _faster_ , and less entrenched in my preconceived views of him, I could have saved us both. And he would have wanted to live even more if I wasn't the cause of his heartbreak. 

But like she said, sometimes men did need saving, sometimes just by women.  

 

“Does this mean you agree?”  

I looked up from the handmade book I gave Angela to quirk an eyebrow at said woman herself. “Agree with what? That men needed saving?” 

“That and if you’ll marry me.”  

I slowly blinked at her. She slowly blinked back. 

“If you’re worried about a ring, I do have one,” and she fished out the red velvet ring box that she had found in the box sitting in Jack’s office.  

My eyes widened in a pleasant surprise. No, _no_ , I was not blushing. It was just a little warm, okay! “Aren’t I supposed to ask you out?”  

Angela innocently shrugged her shoulders as she leaned over the hospital bed. “You didn’t even take me out for dinner. I figured I should make a move first.” 

“But I didn’t know we were dating!” 

“So, that’s a yes.”  

“O-Of course, it’s a yes! Why would it be anything other than a – mmpfh!”  

 

And of course, like all happy endings... we have the kiss.  

 

Her fingers gently traced my jaws before sneaking around to my neck and pressing her lips against mine a little harder. It was only a momentary pause when I felt the sweetness upon mine, and I wholeheartedly responded when my brain booted up again, meshing my lips tightly against hers, fitting like two puzzle pieces. A bandaged hand curled around the back of her head, feeling the soft locks fall between my fingers as I deepened the kiss, this time taking the lead. Her hair had grown longer, much longer I realised, but it was nice. Still made her carry the charm of a beautiful and elegant mature woman. Her body melted against my touch as she matched my movements. My other hand worked its way to her waist, feeling every curve, every perfect line of her body while hers traced the muscles it could reach. 

We pulled apart when air was much needed, and I grinned proudly at the redness of her lips. I stared into her eyes, full of love and warmth, and couldn’t resist pulling her in again.  

 

 _Remember the two people that somehow, constantly, keep finding each other no matter what?_  

 _I believe that those are the people who have a little thing called ‘fate’ on their side._  

 _Such an enviable thing, hah, but it’s alright._  

 _Because dear readers, it’s almost as if the world is telling us: “Stop separating. You’re meant to be together.”_  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of it, folks.  
> I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did. I had lots of fun writing this and is my first ever finished project (shortest too). 
> 
> There might still be some loose ends that I really don't remember since I finished this at 5am, but I hoped the ending was satisfactory. It all ties in back to the title because hey, if you're destined to be together, stop separating. 
> 
> Thank you for staying through till the end! <3 I love you guys.


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